Best Mistake
by ScandalousDreaming
Summary: If she's not the one then she's the best mistake he ever had.


**This is a one shot that I hope you enjoy!**

 _ **Santa Barbara, 2008-Eight years ago…**_

Olivia groaned at the sound of her phone dinging, alerting her that she had an incoming text message. She knew exactly who the text was from and didn't want to answer it. She already felt bad for lying to her mother about not feeling well in order to stay home from school like he had insisted she do earlier that morning when he first texted her. She felt awful about lying to her mother, who was a single mom and worked at Olympus General Hospital as a certified nursing assistant. It was bad enough her mother was struggling to pay the bills, keep a decent roof over their heads, food on the table, and clothes on their backs, working doubles almost every day.

The last thing Olivia needed to do was get into trouble and add more unnecessary stress on her mother's plate. She barely got to see her as it was since Maya always got home from work around 11:30ish p.m. By then Olivia was usually fast asleep. They only really had time to exchange pleasantries in the morning before Olivia went to school and Maya headed off to work. Olivia honestly didn't like who she was turning into because of him. She was a good girl, a goody two shoes that never gotten into any trouble and made straight A's in all AP classes. She was ranked number one in her junior class and was most likely going to end up being valedictorian at her graduation next year. She was also on the swim team and although she wasn't captain, she was still arguably the best swimmer her school ever had.

Her life wasn't perfect, but at least she was making something out of herself by exceling in everything she did with zero distractions. That was until he came along and flipped her world upside down. He was only supposed to be a dumb jock she tutored, but of course things escalated between them. She didn't want to be like every girl in her school that fell for his good looks, charm, captivating blue eyes, full head of luscious brown curls, and drop dead smile. She did play hard to get, but eventually she succumbed to him. That was nearly seven months ago and they were still at it.

Olivia was lying on her back with her right arm folded behind her head, staring up at the ceiling. She sighed deeply when her phone started ringing. She knew it was him because he had a special ringtone. With a huff, Olivia rolled onto her side and reached out to grab her pink Motorola Razr. She flipped the phone open, accepting his call.

"Hello." She answered, not even bothering to hide the apathy in her voice.

It wasn't like he was going to pick up on it anyway.

"Hey." His smooth deep voice responded from the other side of the receiver.

"What's up?"

"What are you doing?"

Olivia sighed because she knew what that particular question lead to.

"I just woke up. How 'bout you?"

She could really care less. She only asked him that out of habit and common courtesy. Her mother had raised her right, not like he actually cared though.

"Eh nothing much, just thinking about you."

"Mmm." Olivia hummed as her response, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Is your mom home?"

Bingo! There it was, the question he always asked before he asked if he could come over for a bit.

"No, she left about ten minutes ago."

He smiled and she could hear it in his voice as he said, "Cool, can I come over then?"

See.

"Yeah."

No.

Olivia used to be excited when she answered this question. She used to be so giddy that the star baseball player in their school asked to "hang out" with her. Now, she was the complete opposite. It was getting old. They were getting old. Their entire arrangement was getting old for her. She wanted more. She craved more. He could no longer fill the void she had inside like he used to. The thrill she got from them sneaking around was no longer exciting. All she felt was emptiness with him. She barely recognized who she had become since meeting him. She was not this kind of girl. She did not lie nor did she skip school without a justifiable reason. Most importantly she had too much respect for herself to continue to be his little secret.

"Okay, I'll be over in about twenty minutes."

"Okay."

"Cool, bye."

Bye."

Olivia hung up and immediately let out a groan as she got up to prepare for his arrival. She went through her morning routine and changed into fresh lounging clothes, specifically the ones she knew he loved seeing her in since they accentuated her assets. She wore black lace boy shorts with the matching push up bra, and a white fitted tank top.

By the time she finished, she heard his car door close. Olivia peeked out the loft's window to make sure that it was in fact him. It was and seconds later she heard a knock on the front door. She took a deep breath before she opened the door. On the other side stood the 6'2" Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III clad in a light blue V-neck that brought out his beautiful eyes, gray sweatpants complemented with his blue and gray Nike Dunks SB, and one of his many Nike rubber wristbands on his left wrist. He was wearing his signature lopsided grin with his hands buried in his pockets.

His entire posture was one of smugness and confidence. He was a pretty boy and he knew it too. After all, he was a Grant and the Grant men could charm the pants off of anyone with their smiles, good looks, and charisma. That was the reason she kept messing around with him. It was hard to deny him anything. It was hard to walk away from him, especially since physically she couldn't get enough of him.

He and Olivia were complete opposites of each other though. Unlike Olivia, Fitz had both his parents present in his life and their marriage was one to be looked at with envy. Fitz also had siblings, two younger brothers to be exact, while Olivia was an only child. He wasn't wealthy nor was he rich, but his family did have money since his father owned both a bar and a restaurant, which were both popular venues in town. His father usually ran the bar, while his mother handled things at the restaurant. Fitz was in a tight-knit family because his parents didn't have to break their backs and work around the clock to make ends meet like her mother had to.

Olivia considered herself to be an introvert, having only four friends in her inner circle. Those people went by the names of Abby Whelan, who had been Olivia's best friend since their preschool days, Diego "Huck" Munoz, Quinn Perkins, and Marcus Walker. She didn't view Fitz as her friend. He only wanted one thing from her and after he got it, he was gone. They didn't actually know a thing about the other except for the obvious. He didn't really ask much about personal stuff and she never talked about it, figuring he wasn't interested. Come to think about it, they hardly spoke if they weren't going at it like jack rabbits and even then Fitz was the one who did most of the talking. He was the extrovert.

"Are you gonna let me in?" He asked with that same cocky grin still on his face.

Olivia stepped aside and opened the door wider, so he could enter. Fitz stepped inside and closed the door. His eyes skimmed over her body and he licked his lips, appreciating the sight of her in the attire she knew he liked. He slowly stepped forward, so that he was in her personal space, towering an entire foot over her.

"You're really short." He stated and just like that, the wall Olivia tried to put up came crumbling back down just by his words.

She didn't even bother fighting the smile that appeared on her face.

"Shut up." She said with a playful pout, shoving his shoulder.

Fitz pulled her body into his. She could feel his erection through their clothing. His arms were wrapped all the way around her body, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. Olivia expected him to kiss her when he leaned down like he always did. Instead, he purposely missed her lips and nuzzled his face in her neck where he placed small pecks on it. Those small pecks turned into little nibbles that made Olivia throw her head back, giving him more access. A moan slipped from her mouth as he devoured her neck.

She was highly disappointed when he stopped his assault on her neck to whisper in her ear, "Did you miss me? Hm?"

Olivia was about to answer when she felt his hand slip between her legs. Fitz still had his right arm around her, while his left hand rubbed her through her boy shorts. Any coherent thought or answer she had went out the window at that moment.

"Answer me. Did you miss me Livvie?" Fitz asked again.

He returned late last night from a week-long trip to Florida. He participated along with the rest of his school's baseball team in a tournament. They unfortunately came in second, but that wasn't bad since they went up against some of the best teams in the country. Although he was bone tired and still sore, he was horny above all and craved Olivia more than ever. He hadn't been inside of her in a week and needed his fix of her asap.

Fitz was grateful when his parents allowed him to stay home from school that day, so he could rest. However, he had other plans and resting was not number one on his list.

"Ah… ye… god yes…" Olivia panted out.

Fitz smirked at her. That was the answer he was looking for.

"Show me."

Olivia knew exactly what he wanted. She stepped out of his embrace and turned around, leading the way down the hall to her bedroom. Fitz followed behind her, keeping some distant between them, so he could shamelessly stare at her ass. Once inside her room, Fitz took off his shoes and lied down on her twin bed that was small underneath his large body. He folded his arms behind his head, waiting for Olivia to show him just how much she missed him because he surely missed her and would show after she was done.

Olivia stood in front of her bed and put on a little show for him. She very slowly took off each article of her clothing, while doing a sexy dance, dropping them onto the carpeted floor once they were taken off. One of Fitz's arms remained folded behind his head, while his other hand cupped himself over his sweatpants. Olivia was making him extremely hard to a point where it was starting to hurt. He needed her in some shape or form. He really didn't care which one, he just wanted her badly.

Fitz got up off her bed, taking one of her throw pillows with him, and walked over to the front where Olivia was standing naked as the day she was born, dropping the pillow in front of them. He eyed her in all her glory and bit his bottom lip. There was so much he wanted to do to her and he had hours to do so. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders and gently put pressure on them until she got the message and got on her knees. Fitz pushed his sweatpants and his boxers down far enough for his erection to spring out, pointing straight out at Olivia's face.

Olivia wrapped one hand around the base of his well-endowed manhood, while the other was placed on his hips. She then took him into her mouth. She bobbed her head back and forth just the way she knew he liked it. Her hand stroked his base since she couldn't fit all of him in her mouth.

"Fuck." Fitz grunted as he buried his hands in her hair. "Don't stop Liv. Just like that."

Olivia moved her hand that was resting on his hip to his ass and squeezed it. Fitz removed her hand from fisting his base and brought it around his back where her other hand was gripping his ass. He tangled his fingers back in her hair and slowly began moving in and out of her mouth.

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath as he continued to thrust into her mouth.

Olivia's bobbing head met his every thrust, bringing her hand around to cup his ball sack. That drove Fitz crazy and she felt his dick twitch in her mouth, informing her that he was close. His short pants also told her he was close. He wasn't going to finish in her mouth though. He never did. Fitz helped her stand up and she took a seat on the edge of her bed as he stripped off the rest of his clothes. He dropped to his knees in front of her. He pushed her shoulders until she was lying flat on her back.

Fitz grabbed the back of her legs and pulled her closer to his face. He kept them over his shoulders as he dove in face first. He showed her absolutely no mercy as she was yelling his name and clawing at her sheets. He was a man starved and would get his fill until he couldn't eat anymore. Olivia had no idea what to do with her hands nor did she have a clue what she wanted. They went from gripping her sheets, to pushing his head away when it was getting to be too much, to pulling at his hair and pushing his head down begging him not to stop.

Fitz watched her the entire time through his hooded eyelids. He could not get enough of her. He briefly stopped to tell her to play with her boobs. When she complied, he went back to pleasing her with his mouth. He replaced his tongue with two of his fingers, while his mouth latched onto her clit. His fingers pumped in and out of her at a fast pace, while he sucked, licked deep circles, and flicked her clit with his tongue. With a final flick of his tongue, Olivia came undone. Fitz slipped his fingers out of her, coated in her juices.

Olivia came down from her high just in time to watch him lick his digits clean of her essence. She always got more turned on whenever he did that. Fitz leaned over her and for the first time that day, he finally kissed her, letting her taste herself on his tongue. Without breaking their kiss, he managed to move their bodies further up the bed. Olivia was so engrossed in their kiss that she was caught completely off guard when he entered her. She threw her head back as a moan escaped her mouth.

Fitz groaned, "Damn Livvie, I've only been gone for a week. You're so fucking tight."

Olivia didn't respond to him. She couldn't, not when he was buried all the way inside of her, moving at an incredibly slow pace.

"Fi… Fitz move faster."

Fitz brought his mouth to her ear and asked in his deep voice, "Did you play with your pussy when I was gone?"

"Fitz…" She begged.

"Answer me Olivia." He growled as he continued to move at a leisurely pace.

"Yes… fuck yes…"

"Who were you thinking about when you touched yourself? Were you thinking about me?"

He started to pick up his pace and he would continue to do so as long as she cooperated.

"Yes…"

"Oh yeah? What did you picture me doing to you?"

"Fuck… fucking me."

"Fucking you how?"

"You already know how I like it Fitz."

Fitz stopped moving, causing her to let a frustrated sigh. "Tell me."

"Hard and fast."

He smiled and wrapped both of her legs around his waist as proceeded to drive into her relentlessly. Olivia cried out in pleasure and slight pain as Fitz bulldozed into her, balls deep, at a lightning quick speed. She clawed at his back, breaking skin with every drag of her nails down it. Fitz winced in pain, but the feeling of her tight pussy engulfing his dick, overpowered any other feeling coursing through his body. Olivia's head board slammed against the wall and her bed creaked underneath their sweaty bodies. Fitz was grabbing onto the sheets underneath the pillow Olivia's head was resting on for more leverage. He was so deep, Olivia though he was going to split her in half. She couldn't take any more and screamed as her juices poured out of her opening.

Fitz pulled out of her and flipped her on all fours. He then slid back into from behind and continued to beat her pussy up. He smacked her ass before gripping both of cheeks and spreading them apart. This position was more for him to get off, but Olivia couldn't stop her third orgasm from happening. Her muscles clenching around Fitz was his undoing and he spilled his seed inside of her with a guttural groan.

Olivia collapsed onto her bed completely spent. She was tired of just having sex with Fitz, but damn she couldn't deny how good he made her feel. The guy was blessed and knew how to use the blessings God gave him.

Fitz would've fell onto the bed too, but it was too small for his body alone, so he definitely couldn't lie next to Olivia. Instead, he opted to grab his clothes and clean up in the bathroom. Olivia cleaned and freshened herself up as well. When she finished, her stomach growled. She had forgotten that she hadn't had any breakfast yet. She decided to cook while Fitz was still in the bathroom.

By the time he exited out of it, the smell of pancakes filled his nostrils and told him that she was in the kitchen. He walked in there to find her stacking the freshly made pancakes on a plate.

"Are you hungry?" She asked him.

"I could eat." Was his response as he sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen bar.

Olivia nodded and handed him a plate and fork. He grabbed three of the stacked pancakes and placed them on his own plate. He buttered his pancakes and poured syrup on them. Olivia grabbed the orange juice from the fridge and poured each of them a glass. He thanked her when she handed him his. She then grabbed two pancakes and put them on her plate. Olivia too buttered her pancakes and poured syrup on them. She chose to stand on the other side of the bar, not quite sure if it would be comfortable if they sat side by side.

The two of them ate in silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of their forks coming in contact with their plates and them swallowing. The silence was driving Olivia crazy though. She wanted more with him, so she broke the silence to test the waters.

"So how was Florida?" She asked him.

Fitz looked up at her briefly before using his fork to cut his pancakes and shrugged.

"It was cool."

Olivia looked at him expectantly. She expected him to go into more depth about his trip, but he didn't. All she got was a lousy, "It was cool" for an answer.

"Did you guys win?"

Fitz shook his head mid-chew, "Nah, we came in second."

Again his short answer was followed by silence. Olivia was irritated by this, which made her feel bold.

"I want more Fitz." She stated.

Fitz swallowed the last piece of his third pancake and looked at her with a blank expression. He clearly didn't know what she meant.

"O-kay, so make more pancakes."

Yeah, he had no clue.

Olivia shook her head and said, "No I mean I want more from you." She hoped he caught on to what she was trying to get at.

No such luck.

A smug grin appeared on his face and she immediately knew where his mind went to. He checked the time on his black Razr.

"Well we still have some time to kill so…" He let his sentence trail off, trusting that she would come to the same conclusion he did.

That was it. Olivia was fed up with him and she snapped. "No. I mean I want more than sex from you Fitz."

Fitz looked at her with furrowed brows, giving her an inquiring look. Olivia sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm tired of us just hooking up. I want to be more than fuck buddies. I want to be your girlfriend." Olivia finally admitted to him and damn it felt good to say that out loud. She had practice saying that to him over a hundred times, but it never felt right whenever they were together before.

Fitz didn't say anything at first. He just sat there with his eyes on everything, but her. She could visibly see his mind working to come up with a response for her. Eventually he found the words he was looking for and sighed. A small smile crept on her face as she waited to hear what he had to say, which she thought was good news for her. Boy was she wrong.

"Olivia, look…" Uh oh, no good news ever follows when a sentence is started like this. The small smile on her face quickly faded and a deep frown replaced it. "I think you're a really cool girl and I really like you. I mean you're super smart and very beautiful and sweet but I'm not tryna be in a relationship. I like my freedom and having casual sex with no strings attached. We're in high school and I don't want to be tied down, at least not now. I'm sorry."

Fitz hated to say that to her. She was really a great girl, but he was telling her the truth. He wasn't interested in being in a committed relationship. Olivia let his words sink in. They were painful to hear, but it was how he felt and she appreciated his honesty. However, she wasn't going to wait for him until he decided he wanted to be in a relationship. Before she could voice her inner feelings out loud to him, his phone chimed. He looked down and read what she assumed was a text message. Fitz stood up so quickly that he almost knocked down the stool he had been sitting on.

"Shit." He said in a panicked tone.

"What's wrong?" Olivia asked alarmed.

Fitz looked up at her, "Uh it's nothing major. My mom just texted me that she forgot something and is on her way home to get it and to also check up on me. I need to get going now if I want to beat her home with minutes to spare. Um thanks for breakfast and I'll talk to you later I guess." However, he didn't leave, not just yet. "No one knows about this right?" He motioned in between the two of them. "You didn't tell anyone about us?"

Olivia shook her head. "No, I didn't tell anyone about us."

Fitz smiled with relief. "Cool."

And just like that he was out the door, leaving Olivia upset. She wiped her warm tears away with the pads of her fingers. She then washed her and Fitz's dirty dishes before solemnly dragging her feet back to her bedroom where she cried into her pillow over a guy that only associated with her when he was horny, lonely, or bored.

The next day, something happened that Olivia didn't see coming. Alex Vargas, a guy in her chemistry class, approached her and confessed his feelings for her. It also helped that he was hot, not as hot as Fitz, but at least he showed genuine interest in anything other than her naked body. After their chemistry class, Alex walked up to her locker and professed his heart to her. That was right after second period. It was now sixth and they had been inseparably except for when they were in class. When they were switching in between classes though, Alex went out of his way to make her laugh and be the perfect gentleman.

They both had the same lunch, which was sixth period. Usually Olivia sat with her friends, but she chose to sit an empty table with Alex today. By now, he was feeling bold. He wrapped an arm around her waist and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. They were so caught up in their little bubble; they were unaware of a pair of eyes glaring at them.

On the other side of the lunchroom, Fitz sat with the popular kids that called themselves his friends. They were all talking to each other and him, but he wasn't paying any of them any mind. He couldn't. He was too busy fuming. How dare Olivia let another guy touch her when she was with him. She was his. She belonged to him and only him, no one else.

Halfway through seventh period, Olivia heard her phone buzz in her small shoulder handbag. She waited until the teacher wasn't looking to discreetly check her phone. She received a text message from Fitz.

 **Fitz: Meet me in our spot.**

Olivia briefly glanced up to make sure her teacher still wasn't looking. She quickly replied to his text and slipped her phone back into the side pocket of her handbag.

 **Olivia: I can't. I have to catch up on the work I missed yesterday because of u.**

She went back to work and thought he actually gave up after minutes passed and he didn't reply. Then her classroom door opened and in walked Fitz. He scanned the room until his eyes connected with hers. He did not look happy and Olivia wondered what was wrong. She watched him talk to her teacher. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew Fitz was trying to get her out of class. He succeeded because her teacher called her up to the room and gave her permission to go with Fitz.

When they were in the hallway, Olivia asked what Fitz said to her teacher. Without looking at her Fitz responded with a sarcastic, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Olivia halted for a second. She didn't know why he had an attitude, but it was starting to affect the good one she'd been in all day.

"Yes, that's why I asked you."

Fitz mumbled something underneath his breath, but it was too low for her to hear.

"What is your problem?" Olivia asked once they were in their school's old courtyard, a place students stopped going to when the new one was built.

"Who was that guy you were flirting with earlier?" Fitz asked, not even bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

Olivia scoffed, "Really? You're mad because I was talking to another guy."

"Answer the damn question Olivia." Fitz demanded through gritted teeth, causing Olivia to roll her eyes.

"You can't be serious. You have no right to be jealous."

"I am not jealous. I'm aware there's a fox in my hen house."

Olivia was taken aback by his comment. _Did he really just say that?_ She walked forward until they were only inches apart. She pointed her index finger in his face as she spoke.

"First of all I am not a hen and my house is not yours."

Fitz moved her hand out of his face and said, "It's a metaphor."

"I don't care what it is. I am not yours. I don't belong to you. Therefore you have no right to tell me who I can and cannot talk to."

Olivia tried to walk passed him like their conversation was over, but he stopped her by grabbing her arm. "As long as you are fucking me, I can tell you whatever I damn well please."

The guy standing before her was not the same guy she submitted her body to just the day before. She didn't know who he was, but she definitely didn't like him, not when he was being a jealous and possessive jerk. Olivia snatched her arm from out of his grasp.

"You don't tell me what to do. I don't care if we are fucking as you so eloquently put it. I don't interfere when you openly flirt with all the cheerleaders, do I? No."

Fitz rolled his eyes, "Flirting is one thing. It's not like I'm fucking them. You are the only girl I've been with since we started."

"It doesn't matter Fitz. I would prefer if you slept with them and left me alone. I'm so tired of sneaking around with you and being treated like your dirty little secret. All you want from me is sex. You can get that from any girl in this school yet you only want to string me along. Well guess what, I'm not satisfied by you, not anymore." Fitz scrunched his eyebrows and Olivia knew why. Of course he would take her word choice the way he did. "Yes, you satisfy me physically but emotionally you give me nothing and I'm tired of pining for you. I want you Fitz. I really do but I'll only have you as my boyfriend."

Fitz took in her words. As much as he didn't want to say what he was going to next, he couldn't lie either. She deserved the truth.

"I can't be your boyfriend Olivia. I don't want to be your boyfriend."

There it was. He said it. Now there was no taking it back. Olivia could no longer look him in the eye. She should've known there was never going to be anything romantic between them. She developed feelings for him, but he made it clear those feelings weren't mutual.

"Then we're over."

"Olivia…"

"No Fitz! We're done whatever…" She motioned between the two of them. "…this is between us. It's over. Don't call, text, email or message me on Facebook or Myspace."

"So what a guy tells you he likes you and you want to stop screwing me to go fuck him. I didn't think you were that naïve or that easy."

Olivia didn't even think twice when her hand made contact with his cheek, hard. Fitz rubbed his stinging cheek as Olivia walked by. He laughed and began speaking, stopping Olivia from leaving just yet.

"You know you were right." He looked over his shoulder, in her direction to see if he caught her attention. He did because she hadn't left, but she didn't turn around either. "I can get with any girl I want. You may have an awesome pussy and give bomb ass head but I can always find a girl who can do the same, maybe even better. Don't think for a second that I can't replace you because you are replaceable Olivia, believe me you are."

His words stung more than they should have. She knew she shouldn't let them get to her, but she couldn't help it. Whoever said words didn't hurt lied because in her case they did. She sniffled back her tears and ran out of the courtyard, vowing to never let that bastard affect her ever again.

For weeks she didn't talk to, look at, or think about Fitzgerald Grant III. Alex was a great distraction for her and they became a couple in the short time they knew each other. Fitz on the other hand, was angry when he found out Olivia was dating that guy. He didn't know why he was so bothered by her with another guy, but he was. He thought fucking almost all of the cheerleaders would make him feel better. It had been weeks and he still felt awful since the day he and Olivia stopped talking.

Olivia felt awful too, but not in the same way. She was fine emotionally, never better actually. However, physically she was feeling worse each day. She woke up with really bad morning sickness, she was constantly tired, and she felt like shit all around. At first she thought she caught a bug that was going around her school, but as the weeks went by, she knew it was something more severe.

When she found out exactly what was causing her to feel ill, she broke down in hysterics. She couldn't believe she was so irresponsible. She couldn't believe he was so irresponsible. She couldn't believe _they_ were so irresponsible. Her life was just starting to get better without him being a part of it and now he was going to be in it for a much longer time.

Olivia sniffled as she dialed his number to do the inescapable. He didn't answer, so she called him again and again he didn't answer. He finally picked up on the third call.

"What?" He answered, irritation evident in his voice.

Olivia opened her mouth to speak. Her tears prevented her from being able to though. She tried to fight them back, still no words came out.

"What do you want Olivia?" Fitz asked harsher.

She took a shaky deep breath to keep her emotions contained.

"Can we talk?" She asked just above a whisper.

"I have nothing to say to you and last time we spoke you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me." He spat.

"Please Fitz." She begged in a small voice. "It's important."

Fitz didn't know what Olivia wanted to tell him, but it must've been important if she was calling him after weeks of them not speaking and their last interaction hadn't been a pleasant one.

"Okay. What's up?"

"I can't say over the phone. Can we meet up? What I have to tell you needs to be said face to face."

Fitz sighed. He wasn't in the mood to talk to her. He wasn't in the mood to be bothered by her period.

"Okay I'll be over in a few minutes."

"Thank yo-"

He didn't let her finish thanking him before he hung up.

Less than fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Olivia ran to open it. An annoyed looking Fitz stood on the other side of it. She stepped aside to let him in. She wanted to ask him if he wanted to go into the living room to talk, but his posture told her he wasn't going any further. He had his hands in his pockets, his one hand playing with his car keys in that pocket.

"Thank you for coming."

"Yeah whatever. What's so important that I had to come over here?" He asked impatiently. "What is it Olivia?" He snapped when she didn't answer him right away.

She looked at him with her teary doe eyes. "Fitz… I'm pregnant." She revealed in a weak voice.

"Congratulations." Was all Fitz said. His tone was cold and apathetic.

Olivia looked at him like he was some kind of monster. "What?"

"Congratulations. Do you honestly think I care you got knocked up by your boyfriend. That's his and your problem not mine. In fact why am I even here? Why are you even telling me this? Shouldn't you be telling this to your boyfriend?"

"Because he's not the father Fitz, you are."

Fitz felt like his legs were going to give out from underneath him. There was no way he could be the father of her baby. Well there was a way, but they hadn't been together in weeks and Olivia was dating a guy who he was sure she was having sex with.

"Ho… How am I the father? We hadn't had sex in a month. Plus you're dating somebody. I can't be the father. That's not my baby." Fitz shook his head from side to side. He couldn't accept the news she just delivered to him.

"Alex and I have not had sex yet and you are the only guy I've been with for seven months so whether you want to believe it or not, you are the father of my baby."

Fitz was still in denial as he shook his head. "No. No. I can't be. We can't… we can't have a baby. We're only seventeen years old."

"So what do you suggest I do Fitz? I'm the one that has to carry our baby. You can choose to stay or leave. You can do whatever you want because you are a guy and you have a penis. Me, I'm stuck." At this point, Olivia was full out sobbing. "What am I supposed to do Fitz?"

It pained Fitz to see Olivia so broken. She was a beautiful person inside out and she didn't deserve to be going through what she was going through. He pulled her into his arms where he comforted her.

"Shhh. Don't cry Livvie. I won't bail on you okay. Please don't cry. We'll be okay. We'll figure this all out. Everything is going to be okay. I promise you."

"Promise you won't leave me." She wept into his shirt, clinging onto the material.

"I promise I'll never leave you Livvie."

That was easier said than done...

A lot can transpire over the course of eight years.

* * *

 _ **Santa Barbara, 2016-Present Day**_

Olivia watched her eight year old daughter Camryn, running around with all of the other sweaty kids as they kicked a soccer ball around the field. All had the same intentions, kicking the ball in the opposing team's goal. Every time Camryn's team did something good Olivia, along with the other parents cheered, which caused the eleven month old in her lap to squeal and clap her pudgy little hands. Both of Olivia's daughters were the light in her life. She loved being with them and teared up every time she had to part from either of them especially her oldest, who she shared joint custody with her ex-husband and first love. Correction, the only man she ever loved.

When she woke up every morning and went to bed every night without anyone lying beside her, it was a reminder of what she used to have. She had something special with a great man that adored her very existence, but in a time of weakness she threw the life she had with him away and chose another. As a result, she was left heart broken and alone to be a single mom. She was selfish then and ended up getting what she deserved. She hurt the man she loved to have a fling with another that brought out the careless side of her and dumped her when she became pregnant with his child. Even though that happened a couple years ago, she still hadn't forgiven herself for what she did.

Because of her transgressions, her daughters don't get to experience having both a mommy and a daddy living under the same roof. At least her oldest had her father present in her life though unlike her youngest who may never know her actual father. Life would be a hell of a lot easier if Mariah had the same father as Camryn. As bad as that might sound, she really wished Mariah belonged to Camryn's dad.

Speaking of Camryn's dad, Olivia checked the time on her iPhone 6 that was placed on the arm of her quad chair. Camryn's practice was nearly over and he was nowhere to be found. It was Wednesday, which meant Camryn was going to be with her dad until Sunday around this same time. Olivia scrolled through her contact list until she reached his name. She pressed on it and put the phone to her ear. After three rings, he finally answered.

"Hello." His deep baritone voice, which dropped even more as he got older, came from the other end.

God Olivia loved his voice.

"Hey Fitz, where are you? Cam's practice is almost over." Olivia said, bouncing a fussy Mariah on her knees.

"I know. I'm pulling up to the field now."

Olivia swiveled her head around and sure enough Fitz's gray 4x4 Ram 1500 was pulling into a vacant parking space. She watched him get out of his vehicle. Her eyes immediately scanned over his body clad in a fitted black t-shirt, green camouflage cargo shorts, and black Nike Roshe Ones, which he also had in cool gray. Olivia appreciated the way his muscles strained against the fabric of his shirt and the way his exposed legs walked with swag that made her insides tingle. She was disappointed that his beautiful head of chocolate curls, the same curls that were soft and she used to love running her hands through, were covered by a distressed green camouflage cap. She had to hand it to him though; the man knew how to dress even in casual clothes. Then again he always did.

As Fitz neared, Olivia stood up with her youngest daughter wrapped securely in her arms. Mariah lit up at the sight of Fitz walking towards her. Her arms flapped in excitement the closer he got. Fitz also became excited when he saw Mariah. Even though she wasn't his daughter, he still held a special place for her in his heart. He truly wished she was his daughter. She was a little cutie pie and a delight to be around.

"Is that my little Mamas?" Fitz asked the little girl as he scooped her up out of her mother's arms. She laughed as he planted a loving kiss on her chubby cheek.

Olivia's heart swelled as she watched her ex interact with her daughter. It amazed her how much Fitz seemed to love the little girl that didn't belong to him. Her guess would be because he was great with children and loved being a father. He was a really great father and a sucker for his daughter's wide hazel eyes. Speaking of his daughter…

"Daddy!"

Fitz looked up to his little girl running towards him. He handed Mariah back to Olivia just in time to hug her.

"Urgh!" He exaggeratedly groaned as he lifted her up. "Cam you are getting so big. Pretty soon I'm not gonna be able to pick you up anymore." He said, planting a kiss to her forehead. She giggled when he attacked the rest of her face with kisses, the light stubble beard that framed his face tickling her in the process.

"I'm almost taller than mommy, look." Camryn squirmed out of his embrace and Fitz cautiously set her on her feet. She stood next to her mother, holding her sister. "See!" She compared the small gap between their heights with her hand.

"I see. It's a good thing you inherit your height from me or else you would be a munchkin for the rest of your life like your mommy." Fitz quipped.

"Shut up Fitz." Olivia said, throwing him a playful glare.

"Mommy, be nice to daddy." Camryn reprimanded her mother with a serious look.

"Yeah mommy, be nice to daddy." Fitz mimicked his daughter.

Olivia rolled her eyes with a smile splaying on her lips. Her daughter was too much and like her and Fitz in so many ways. Camryn was the perfect mixture between both her parents. She had long brown curly hair that went down her back. Her eyes were hazel and wide. Her skin was a light caramel honey color. She had a cute button nose and her lips were full and pouty. She had her father's ears. She had his dimples, his smile, and it was already established that she also inherited his height.

Camryn also inherited both of her parents' personalities. She was smart, but fierce like her mother and was laid back like her father. She was also very stubborn like the both of them. If you crossed her, she would not forget it and made sure you didn't either. She usually acted like a girly girl and loved being dolled up when she was with her mother. When she was with her father though, she loved getting dirty.

Fitz always let her ride with him on his four wheeler, dirt bike, and jet ski. He was also in the process of teaching her how to surf since she loved swimming and being in the water like her mother. She was one of the "guys" when she was with him. Olivia didn't like that her daughter acted the way she did when she was with her father, but it was hard not to when he was masculine guy that had two brothers who were the same way.

After all she was a Grant and Grants were very close. Fitz's brother Alvey, who was twenty-three years old and his other brother Grayson, who was eighteen, spent a lot of time with their niece. They adored the little girl and so did their parents. Camryn's grandparents gave their granddaughter whatever her little heart desired. They spoiled her, but not rotten. Neither Fitz nor Olivia allowed them to.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side you little booger." Camryn laughed when her mother tickled her neck.

"Okay, okay mommy. I'm sorry. I'm on your team."

"Traitor." Fitz grumbled underneath his breath.

"Daddy, can we get ice cream when we leave?" Camryn had the nerve to ask after switching sides to be on her mother's.

"How about we eat dinner first and after I'll take you out for some ice cream." Fitz suggested, which she agreed to.

"Okay."

Fitz smiled, "Okay, what do you want to eat for dinner?"

Camryn didn't hesitate to answer, "Chicken nuggets."

Both of her parents groaned. All she ever wanted to eat lately was chicken nuggets.

"Of course you do. You keep eating all these chicken nuggets and you're going to turn into one." Camryn flashed him a smile that also belonged to him. He hated when she did that because he became putty in her hands. "Go get your things so we can get going please."

"Wait daddy. Can mommy and Mimi come with us?"

Fitz didn't know how to answer her and didn't feel like it was his place to answer for his ex. It was also a question that shocked him and Olivia because although they were cordial, they didn't spend too much time together as a whole. They usually exchanged pleasantries during pick up and drop off days and gave each other updates on their daughter. Other than that, they didn't really delve into anything too personal.

"I don't know baby. You have to ask mommy if she and Mimi want to come with us. I'm fine with it if she does." Fitz and Camryn both looked at Olivia expectantly, waiting for her answer.

"We would love to join you two for dinner." Olivia replied.

She knew that she made the right decision by her daughter's reaction.

"Yay! Mommy and Mimi's coming!" Camryn cheered.

"Cam, go get your bag so your daddy can put it in his truck." Olivia told her daughter and she obeyed right away.

"Here ya go daddy." She handed him her soccer bag and her book bag for school.

"Are you going to ride with me or your mommy?"

Camryn hated choosing between her parents. She didn't want to hurt their feelings, even though they told her several times that they wouldn't be offended if she chose to do something with the other. All that mattered was how she felt and what she wanted to do. They were both awesome parents and she enjoyed spending time with the both of them. It was hard to choose between them and they tried to avoid having to put her in that position as much as possible.

"Umm I'm gonna ride with mommy since I'm gonna be with you later daddy." Camryn said as kind as she could, so she didn't hurt her daddy's feelings.

Fitz obviously knew her intentions and smiled at his sweet little girl, "Okay, I'll see you in a little bit then. I love you." He leaned down and pecked her lips.

"I love you too daddy."

Fitz stood up and made eye contact with Olivia.

"Bye Liv."

"Bye Fitz."

Fitz couldn't leave without saying goodbye to one of his favorite girls. "Bye Mamas." He again kissed her plumped cheek.

"Wave bye bye to Fitz." Mariah opened and closed her tiny fist three times as her way of waving to him. "Say bye bye Fitz."

Olivia and Fitz went their separate ways, hopping into their respective vehicles before meeting back up at his family's restaurant. Olivia prayed none of his family members were there because she would be uncomfortable if they were. She assumed his family hated her after what she had done to him. She hadn't had to face them in two years and felt ashamed to. They had been so kind to her, treating her like one of their own and she betrayed one of their own in return.

Fitz opened the back door to Olivia's white Toyota Camry and helped his daughter out of the backseat, while Olivia got Mariah out of her car seat. They looked like a cute little family walking into the restaurant together. Since Fitz ran the joint, he chose to sit at an unoccupied booth in the back to give them some privacy. Fitz and Camryn sat on one side of the booth, while Olivia sat on the other side. Mariah was sitting in a high chair at the end of the table. As luck would have it, Fitz's brother Grayson, was their waiter. Luckily Olivia excused herself to the bathroom minutes earlier, so there wasn't an awkward encounter… yet.

"Hi Uncle Gray!" Camryn said rather loudly as she got up to hug him.

"Hey Squirt." He picked her up and kissed her forehead. "Ew kid you reek of sweat and grass." He gagged overdramatically and scrunched his face, making his niece laugh hard as if he just told the world's funniest joke.

"I just left from soccer practice silly."

"Atta girl. I'm sure you were working hard and that's why you smell like my gym socks but the first thing you need to do when you get home is take a very long bath. I mean until you start to prune."

He put her back down and Camryn climbed back into the booth next to her father.

"Hey big bro. You look ugly as always."

"Well since we look alike I'm guessing you also consider yourself to be ugly." Fitz fired back jokingly.

"Haha, nice one." Grayson said in a playful sarcastic tone. "And who is this little cutie?" He asked looking down at the baby girl who was looking up at him smiling.

"She's my little sister Mariah." Camryn answered.

"Oh. She's adorable and I'm guessing Olivia's here." Grayson presumed and Fitz confirmed with a head nod. "Where is she?"

Fitz and Camryn pointed over to the ladies room where Olivia had just left out of. As Olivia neared she grew anxious at having to interact with the youngest Grant brother, which wasn't as bad as having to communicate with the others that she figured weren't as forgiving and nice once they've been burned like Fitz and Grayson were.

"Hey Liv." She was genuinely surprised when Grayson pulled her into a hug.

She returned his hug and greeting, "Hey Grayson."

"How are you?" He asked politely.

"I'm good. How 'bout you?"

He shrugged and said, "I'm good too. I'm just relieved my senior year is almost over."

"Oh my goodness, I forgot you are a senior. Do you know what college you want to go to yet?"

"Yeah I got into Berkley so I'll be attending there in the fall." He stated.

"Congratulations! What do you plan on studying there?"

"Business."

Olivia could've guessed that if she really wanted to. All of the Grant brothers attended college to study business. It ran through their veins.

"Well I wish you the best of luck. I'm sure you'll do great there." She told him sincerely and gave him a hug.

"Thanks Liv." He hugged her back. "So do you guys know what you want to eat yet?" He asked them once Olivia sat back down.

"Yeah we'll have the usual." Fitz said, meaning him and Camryn.

Grayson wrote their usual order down and looked at Olivia.

"What would you like Liv?"

"Can I have a chicken salad and a glass of water please?" Olivia ordered.

"Of course and what kind of dressing would you like on your salad?"

"French."

Grayson scribbled down her order too.

"Okay, got it. And what would little one here like?"

"Macaroni and cheese with a regular milk please."

"That's a lot of calcium. Either she's gonna have really strong bones or really bad diarrhea." Grayson joked. Olivia and Fitz laughed and shook their heads at his comment. "I'll be back shortly with your drinks."

"Thanks Gray." Fitz called to his brother, who only waved his acknowledgement.

"Daddy, I wanna color." Camryn stated.

"Okay. You know where to get the coloring sheets and crayons. Bring one back for your sister too."

Camryn nodded and ran off to get the items.

"How did she do at practice?" Fitz asked Olivia, trying to make some small talk.

"She did good. She's definitely getting better."

"That's good. I'm glad. We usually spend a half hour to an hour outside practicing when she's with me."

"Yeah, Cam told me. Can I ask you something though?" Fitz nodded slowly, a bit skeptical. "Why were you so late to her practice?"

He let out a subtle sigh of relief at her question, "There was a little altercation at the bar that I had to handle."

"Oh, is everything okay like no one got hurt did they?" Olivia asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah no one got hurt. It wasn't that serious, two guys just had a misunderstanding and I was forced to step in before things really got outta hand."

"Well that's good."

Fitz nodded in agreement, "Yeah."

"So I'm having Mariah's first birthday party at my house on Saturday and I was wondering if I could have Cam for a few hours?"

"Yeah of course. I wouldn't want Cam to miss her sister's big day. I'll drop her off probably in the morning so she can spend some alone time with you and Mamas before the guests start to arrive. That good with you?"

"Yeah, that's perfect. Thank you."

Fitz waved her off, "It's cool. I just can't believe my little Mamas is gonna be one years old already. Damn time is flying by too fast. I'm starting to feel like an old man."

"Because you are." Olivia quipped.

"And so are you." Fitz returned without missing a beat.

Olivia threw a packet of sugar at him.

"You are such an asshole."

Fitz picked the packet off of his lap and put it back its original place.

"That I am but it takes one to know one, just saying."

Olivia couldn't help, but laugh. He never not had a comeback. One of her favorite things about him was his quick wit.

"Shut up."

"That's twice you told me to shut up in…" He glanced down at his black Movado bold watch on his left wrist. "…less than an hour."

"Because you never let anyone one up you."

Fitz shrugged, "Why should I? I'm a man that has too much pride to let anyone get the last word unless that person's my mother or Mariah. Isn't that right Mamas?" He leaned over a bit to gently rub her cheek with the back of his fingers. Mariah smiled and grabbed a hold of only two of his fingers since that was all she could fit in her hand.

"Mariah can barely talk let alone understand half of the things that come out of her own mouth." Olivia stated and Fitz smirked.

"Exactly."

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him.

"I hate you."

"Eh, the feeling's mutual." He teased.

Olivia was about to throw a snarky remark back at him when Grayson interrupted her along with her mini me by his side. He set everybody's drink on the table, announcing which drink belonged to each person. He finished by placing his niece back in the booth next to her father and said, "And a stinky Camryn."

"Shut up Gray, it's not like you smell any better." Fitz jokingly told his youngest brother.

Grayson held up his hands in defense. "Hey now, no need to insult me because I'm telling the truth. Your kid stinks."

"So does your ass."

"Which I once scrubbed with your toothbrush."

Olivia laughed at their back and forth banter. Fitz was the king of comebacks and sarcasm, but his brother was about to take his crown and kick him off of the thrown.

"I guess we're even then since I once dropped your toothbrush in the toilet and put it back."

The look of pure disgust on Grayson's face had the others laughing at his expense.

"Okay you win. I'm gonna go get you guy's food before something else gets revealed that should remain a secret." Grayson went back into the kitchen to check up on their orders.

"You two are so nasty." Olivia said, still laughing.

"Yeah daddy." Camryn agreed, not bothering to look up as she continued to color her picture.

"Hey no one asked for your two cents, short stuff."

"I still gave it." She sassed.

Fitz's only shook his head. His daughter loved to talk back to him and her mother, but knew when she was becoming too fresh. They usually let her sass them as long as she was being respectful or playful. If she began to act like a brat, they put her in check real quick, more so Olivia than Fitz. That didn't mean Fitz didn't know how to put his foot down though. When he said enough, he meant it was enough.

"Alright smartass." Fitz purposely bumped her elbow, so that she would mess up on her coloring.

"Daddy, you made me mess up!" Camryn exclaimed.

"I'm sorry it was an accident babe."

"No you did it on purpose." Camryn pouted and threw her green crayon on the table, sitting back and folding her arms.

"Camryn Paige, if you throw another crayon you will not have ice cream after dinner and you will be on punishment for a week. Do you understand me?" Fitz reprimanded her.

"Yes daddy." She said sadly with her head lowered.

Olivia and Fitz made small talk, while they waited for their food to be brought to their table. Camryn continued to sulk and Mariah was scribbling on the piece of paper and the table. Several times Olivia had to stop her from putting them in her mouth. Grayson finally delivered their plates to their table after thirty minutes of waiting. He noticed his niece was not her usual gleeful self and whispered something in her ear that obviously cheered her up because a bright smile spread across her face and she lit back up.

The table was no longer filled with an awkward silence and they went back to joking and laughing. When they finished, Grayson took Camryn to custom make her own dessert. Fitz had Mariah on his lap as he spoon fed her some of his vanilla ice cream. Olivia too opted to have ice cream for dessert. Hers was strawberry flavored. Camryn was all sticky with some ice cream on her blue jersey, but she was happy, so her parents couldn't really be mad. Olivia didn't care so much because she didn't have to clean up that mess.

Fitz paid their bill. However, Olivia insisted on leaving the tip. Before they left, Grayson quickly pulled his brother aside to talk to him.

"Hey, what's going on with you and Liv?"

Fitz gave him a confused, "What do you mean? Nothing's going on between us."

"It sure looked like something. You guys looked like you were on a family outing. You even shared some of your ice cream with her daughter. What was that about?"

"If you weren't my brother, I would beat the shit outta you for questioning my doings with my daughter, her mother, and little sister. But because you're my brother and I know that you love and care about me, I'm gonna tell you my business even though it's none of yours."

Fitz wasn't angry per se. He was just annoyed that his brother questioned his happenings. He didn't understand why he couldn't spend time with his ex and their children without there being more going on. They were exes that got along. They were exes that wanted to spend equal time with their daughter. It was that simple.

"After Cam's practice, she asked if Olivia and Mariah could come with us to get a bite of eat. Olivia and I both agreed. That's it."

"What about you playing daddy to her daughter?"

"I'm not gonna treat Mariah like a stranger because she's not my daughter. I'm not playing daddy, I'm giving her fatherly love since she doesn't have one in her life right now. If Olivia ever finds a guy to settle down with and accept her daughter then I will gladly take a step back but as of right now I am gonna be a father figure in her life. It's not her fault she's not mine. I'm not gonna punish her or have her miss out because of her mother's actions. I was there for Olivia when she was pregnant with her and I was in the delivery room when she was born. She's not mine but a part of me still feels like she is. Also, Olivia doesn't seem to mind."

"Just be careful Fitz. I don't want you to get hurt… not again."

Fitz cupped the back of his brother's neck and pulled him into a hug. "I'm not."

"Okay. Take care bro. I'll probably stop by tomorrow to hang out with you and Cam."

"Okay and thanks for giving me heads up instead of dropping by unannounced like you always do."

"No problem."

"Take care Gray. Be good for mom and dad."

Grayson flashed his brother a sly grin, "Never."

Fitz smiled and shook his head before walking out of the restaurant to meet back up with three out of the five females in his life.

"Alright baby, I love you and be good for your daddy okay. I don't want to hear that you've been bad, understand me?"

"Okay mommy. I love you too."

Olivia leaned down and kissed her daughter's lips. Fitz opened the back door of his truck and helped his daughter get into the backseat. He made sure she buckled up before he closed the door. He and Olivia both agreed that she was too old to have a car seat when she turned eight years old.

"Fitz, don't do anything stupid with her around. I know you and your bonehead brothers like to get into all kinds of mischief and do crazy things." Olivia told him pointing a playful finger in his face.

"I won't. I promise." He vowed with a grin.

"I'm serious. You better not return her back to me with any bumps, bruises, scrapes, or tattoos."

"We don't even have tattoos, what makes you think I would allow her to get one. Although if I did it would say mom." Fitz joked.

"Fuck you."

"Oh c'mon, where's your sense of humor."

"I married you didn't I?" She asked rhetorically.

Fitz sucked in wind, "There it is."

"See ya Fitz." Olivia said as she turned to open the driver's door of her car.

"Take care Liv." Fitz returned, offering her a hand. He helped her into her vehicle, shutting the door close once she was safely inside it. He then leaned into the back rolled down window where Mariah was smiling at him. "Bye Mamas." She waved to him. "Can I have a kiss?"

He puckered his lips and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for her to kiss him. She grabbed his cheeks and leaned forward to peck his lips. When she did that, he attacked her cheek with several kisses before leaving to get into his truck. The ride to his house was a mere ten minutes. During that time, Camryn excitedly told her father what she had planned for them. They wouldn't be able to get through most of the things she wanted to do since it was a school night and her bedtime would be approaching in a couple of hours.

As soon as they entered the house, they were greeted by Damage, Fitz's black American pit bull terrier. Damage adored Camryn and was excited to see her and even more excited for her attention. Fitz ran her a warm bath before they did anything else though. He let her wash herself, but still made sure she was bathed thoroughly. That went for her hair as well. Fitz hated messing with her hair. Luckily Olivia gave him a course on how to do her hair when they were together, which definitely helped now, but it was still a struggle to do it.

"You need a haircut." Fitz stated as he ran his fingers through her went curls.

"I don't want a haircut daddy. I like my hair long."

"I know you do sweetheart but you don't have to do it. You just have to sit and let me or your mother struggle to tame your unruly curls."

After bath time, Camryn brushed her teeth, while Fitz laid out her pajamas on her bed. Once she was done, she skipped to her room to put on her pajamas. She then went downstairs to find her daddy.

"Yeah, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye." Fitz said before he hung up on the person he had been talking to.

"Daddy, I'm all done." Camryn announced as she entered the living room, where her dad was nursing a beer in one hand while petting Damage with his other and watching the NBA playoffs.

"Good girl. Do you wanna FaceTime your mommy before you go to sleep?"

Camryn nodded, "Uh huh." She climbed on the sectional couch and sat next to him. Damage hopped off of the couch to go sit next to her on the other side of Fitz.

"Okay."

Fitz opened his FaceTime app and hit Olivia's name. He and his daughter watched the phone as they waited for her to answer. She did on the fourth ring.

"Hi mommy."

"Hi beautiful girl." Olivia greeted her with a smile. "What are you doing?"

"I just took a bath and brushed my teeth. I'm about to go to sleep but I wanted to say goodnight to you before I did."

"Aw goodnight baby. I love you."

"I love you more mommy." Camryn declared.

"Cam, go get in bed and I'll be up in a minute to read you a story okay."

"Okay daddy. Bye mommy."

"Bye baby."

Olivia and Fitz waited until she left the room, with Damage trailing her, until they said anything to each other.

"Hi." Olivia said.

"Hi." Fitz returned with a small smile. "Your daughter needs a haircut."

Olivia snorted, "You're telling me. I tried to convince her many times to cut it but she loves her long hair. She threw a tantrum when I tried to cut it. The only reason I didn't was because I didn't want to cut her. We're just gonna have to deal with her stubborn curls which you are to blame for by the way."

Fitz scoffed, "Oh please. You can't put all the blame on me. She has your hair too."

Olivia nodded, "That she does. Eventually she's gonna get fed up with having long hair but until that day comes we need to suck it up and deal with it." Fitz sighed and took off his cap. "It looks like somebody got a haircut though I see."

Fitz was confused at first, but it finally hit him when he ran a hair through his shorter hair. Two days ago, he got a haircut, choosing to try a new style.

"Oh yeah. I decided to change it up a bit and get a taper fade."

Olivia examines his haircut as best as she can and has to admit it's a great look for him.

"It looks nice on you."

"Thanks. I figured it was time to get one. My curls were reaching my ears and it irritates the hell outta me when they touch my ears."

"Yeah I remembered."

She let those words linger in the air. Fitz, however, ignored it. He heard it, but wasn't going to acknowledge it. That part of his life was over with.

"I should probably head up to read her a book so she can go to sleep on time. I do not want to wake up to a monster tomorrow morning."

Olivia chuckled, "Okay have a goodnight."

"You too."

They simultaneously disconnected the call. Fitz went upstairs to Camryn's room only to find her passed out. He snapped his fingers at Damage and pointed to the door. Damage trotted out of her room and went downstairs to his bed placed in the living room. Fitz kissed his daughter's forehead before quietly leaving her room. He then went straight into the bathroom and took a hot shower. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he walked into his bedroom to get dressed in his pajamas. He then put his phone on the charger and slipped underneath the comforter on his bed. He wished he had someone to help keep his sheets warm, but it clearly wasn't meant to be with the woman that used to warm them. He sighed and slipped into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

"Daddy." Camryn was standing next to his side of the bed, staring at him. "Daddy, wake up." She tried to shake him awake. However, she received no answer from him. He continued to lightly snore, lying on his stomach with an arm thrown over the edge of the bed.

Camryn huffed followed by a pout and knitted brows. She folded her arms and continued to stare at him as if that was going to do something.

"Daddy!" She tried again, this time yelling his name at the top of her lungs.

Fitz groaned and peeked at her through his half open eyelid with his head slightly raised. "What time is it?" He asked in a groggy voice.

Camryn looked at the clock on his nightstand. "6:42."

Fitz groaned again, dropping his head back onto his pillow. "Cam you don't have to be at school until eight-thirty."

"But I'm hungry." Camryn whined. Right on cue, her stomach growled. "See."

"Cam, you know how to make your own bowl of cereal." Fitz sighed. He had a good half hour before he had to get up and was trying to enjoy the remaining time finishing getting his shut eye.

"I don't want cereal daddy, I want pancakes."

"Fine." Fitz relented. He was in no mood to go back and forth with her. He only had her three and half days, so he tried to make the best of their time together, even when she got on every one of his last nerves. "Go watch TV. I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay!" Camryn sprinted out of his room and down the stairs into the living room, where she flicked on the television to watch Disney XD.

Fitz pushed himself up and reluctantly got out of bed. He dragged his feet to the bathroom where he relieved his bladder and went through the rest of his morning routine before heading downstairs.

"Do you want chocolate chips?" He asked Camryn as he walked passed the living room without slowing down to wait for her answer.

"Yes please!" She called out to him.

"Do you wanna help me make them?" He called back.

"Yeah!" Camryn ran into the kitchen to help him.

They worked together to make their breakfast and were indulging in the most important meal of the day fifteen minutes later. After breakfast was done, Fitz cleaned up their mess and fed Damage, while he made Camryn go upstairs and get ready for school. He then put her hair in a bun like she had requested. Fitz got ready for his day as well once he was finished tending to his daughter. He made sure she had no homework in her homework folder like she had said. After everything was taken care of, they were out the door and right on schedule. Fitz pulled into the drop off lane and got out of his truck to help Camryn out even though she didn't really need it.

"Alright I love you Cam. Have a good day in school and behave yourself."

"Okay daddy. I love you too."

"How much?" Fitz asked with a smirk.

Camryn smiled at him as color filled her cheeks. "Forever and ever babe."

"Back at ya babe."

He leaned down to peck her lips and give her hug. He then watched her walk into the school safely with other students, some he recognized as her friends. Once she was inside, Fitz hopped back into his truck and went back home to take Damage for a walk before he left for work at his family's restaurant.

Halfway through the day, he received an unexpected call from Olivia.

"What's up Liv?" He asked when he answered his phone.

"Hey Fitz I'm really sorry to bother you but can you do me a huge favor please?" He frowned at her the urgency in her voice.

"What do you need?"

"Can you pick Mariah up from day care please? I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't desperate. I have to fill in for another nurse that called in sick and I won't get off until seven tonight. Everyone else I asked is unavailable to pick her up before the day care closes. I'm so sorry to ask this of you."

"Of course I'll get her. I'll pick her up before I get Cam from school."

"Thank you Fitz so much. You're a lifesaver. I promise I'll pay you for doing this. I know you're going out of your way." Olivia said, letting out a breath of relief.

"Don't worry about it Liv. It's no problem at all. I'll be happy to pick Mamas up for you."

"Thank you Fitz! I owe you big time."

"Relax Liv. I mean it, you don't owe me anything." He told her honestly.

"Okay, can you stop by my job to pick up Mariah's car seat?"

"Yeah, I'll stop by in about an hour. That sound good to you?"

"That sounds perfect! I'll call the day care to let them know I gave you permission to pick Mariah up. Thank you again Fitz for the umpteenth time."

Fitz chuckled, "You're welcome for the umpteenth time."

They bade each other goodbye before hanging up.

* * *

An hour later, Fitz pulled into the parking lot of the children's hospital Olivia worked at. He had called Olivia on the way and told her to meet him outside. She was waiting for him next to her car, holding Mariah's car seat in her arms. Fitz stopped in front of her car and got out to take the car seat from her. He then buckled it into the backseat of his truck. He and Olivia made some small talk, but she had to get back to work and he had to leave if he wanted to get Mariah and pick up Camryn on time from school.

"Hello sir, may I help you." A woman who looked to be in her mid-forties approached Fitz when he entered the day care.

"Uh yeah, my name's Fitzgerald Grant and I'm here to pick up Mariah Pope."

"Oh yes, her mother called and said you would be picking Mariah up. I'm just going to need to see some identification before I let you take her to make sure you are who you say you are. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah absolutely, of course." Fitz pulled his wallet out of the back right pocket of his jeans. He opened it, showing her his driver's license and verified his identity.

"Okay thank you. I'll go get her and her things for you."

"Thank you."

Fitz watched the teacher pick her up from the rug she had been playing on with some toys. She collected Mariah's diaper bag and made her way back over to him. A huge smile spread formed on Mariah's face when she spotted her favorite guy. She immediately held her arms out for him to take her, which he gladly did when she was in arm's reach. The teacher then handed him her diaper bag and they were on their way to get Camryn. They arrived just in time.

"Daddy, what's Mimi doing with us?" Camryn asked as soon as she got into the backseat and saw her little sister.

"Your mom is working late and wasn't able to pick her up so I agreed to do it. Mariah's gonna spend the afternoon with us okay."

"Okay! Mimi, my daddy's the best daddy in the whole wide world and you're gonna have a fun time with us." Camryn assured her baby sister. She leaned over and planted a loving kiss on her sister's cheek.

Fitz looked at them through his rearview mirror and smiled. Times like this especially made him wish Mariah was his daughter. He would have loved to have another daughter he could spoil, as if he didn't spoil her already. If it were up to him he would gladly claim her as his, but it's not up to him, therefore he was stuck playing the nice guy that was her sister's dad.

He skillfully and carefully backed out of the school's parking lot and made his way home with his two favorite little girls singing along to the songs playing on Radio Disney. Well… Camryn was singing, Mariah was making sound effects that went along with the tune. Fitz loved the both of them with all his heart, but several times he had to refrain from wincing at their off key singing. Instead, he laughed at their attempts to hit hard notes and shook his head.

About fifteen minutes later, he pulled into his garage. Fitz handed Camryn his keys to unlock the door, while he unstrapped Mariah's car seat with her inside of it. As soon as he stepped into the house, Damage jumped up to get to Mariah.

"Down! Damage, get down now!" Fitz commanded his dog.

Damage did as told and scurried off to find Camryn, who was in the kitchen grabbing a fruit snack from the pantry. Fitz set Mariah's car seat on the coffee table in his living room and unsnapped her out of it. He then carried her into the kitchen, placing soft kisses on the side of her face.

"Cam, can you get your sister an applesauce cup and a spoon please."

"Sure daddy."

Camryn got down from her chair at the kitchen bar and walked over to the refrigerator to pull out a Mott's applesauce cup. She then grabbed a spoon from the drawer with all of the silverware in it and walked back over to the table. She handed her daddy both objects.

"Here ya go daddy."

"Thanks baby."

Fitz took them from her hand and peeled the lid off of the applesauce cup with his left hand, which was his free hand since his right arm was wrapped around her body. Fitz transferred her off of his lap and placed her on the edge of the table, right in front of him. He proceeded to spoon feed her the applesauce, while Camryn replayed her day to him. After they finished their snacks, Camryn changed out of her school clothes, so that she could play in the backyard with her sister and father.

Fitz had a fairly large backyard, therefore Camryn had a lot of room to run around and play. There was a big backyard falcon ridge premium wood swing set, a trampoline, two soccer goals, and most importantly, a spacious deck with a pool and fire pit attached to it.

The three of them, along with Damage, played in the backyard until the sun was starting to set. By the time they came back in, they had worked up not only a sweat, but also an appetite. Fitz drew a bath for both of the girls and washed Mariah, assisting Camryn when she got off task or missed a spot. After bath time, he changed Mariah into a pink footie with brown monkeys on it.

"What do you want for dinner?" Fitz asked Camryn when he placed Mariah back into her car seat in the living room, where Camryn was watching Disney channel.

"Spaghetti and meatballs." She responded, never taking her eyes off of the screen.

"Okay. I forgot to ask you earlier, do you have homework?"

"No daddy." Camryn said with her eyes still locked on the fifty inch plasma TV screen mounted on the wall.

Fitz eyed her closely and could tell she was lying. "Show me."

That got her attention. She looked at her father with widen eyes, which gave her away. "I don't have any homework."

"Okay, well I want to make sure. Bring me your homework folder so I can see that there's nothing that has to be completed in it."

Camryn reluctantly did what she was told and dragged her book bag into the living room. Fitz pulled her homework folder out of it and opened it. He frowned at the incomplete math worksheet in it. He slipped it out of the folder and placed it on the coffee table.

"Finish it and when you're done I want you to show me."

"But I don't wanna." She whined.

"I didn't ask what you wanted to do Camryn. I'm telling you to do your homework and show me when you've completed it so I can check your answers." Before she could complain some more, Fitz cut her off. "If you keep whining, you're not gonna get dessert and you'll go straight to bed after dinner instead of playing."

That made her cooperate. Camryn grabbed a pencil out of her pink pencil box and did her homework. While, she worked on that, Fitz made a big bowl of spaghetti. He somehow managed to alternate between cooking and playing with Mariah. When she was done, Camryn showed him her now completed homework like he had requested. He looked over it and only had to correct one problem out of the ten. Camryn put her homework away and joined her father and sister at the dining table.

Fitz fed Mariah, while also feeding himself. However, he wasn't too distracted to notice his daughter sneaking Damage a meatball or two. After dinner and dessert (chocolate chip cookies), they retired into the living room. Monsters University was playing on Disney, so they decided to watch that, while being cuddled up together. Halfway through the movie, both Camryn and Mariah fell asleep. Fitz chuckled at Mariah's light snoring. She must've been really exhausted.

He laid her down on the couch and placed a pillow by beside her, so she wouldn't roll off of the couch. Next, he carried Camryn upstairs to her bedroom and kissed her goodnight. He then trekked back downstairs and tended to his dog that he kind of neglected to take care of the girls. Being a single father was hard already with one daughter, but attempting to be one with two was even harder, not that he would ever complain though. He loved being a father and wouldn't trade that job for any other in the world.

Once everyone and everything was taken care, of he collapsed onto the couch, inches away from where Mariah was sleeping, careful not to wake her up. He changed the channel to ESPN and lowered the volume. He didn't know when it happened, but he ended up dozing off. Before he knew it, Olivia was ringing his doorbell. He stood up and stretched before going to open the door.

"Hi." He greeted her in a whisper with a tired smile.

"Hi." Olivia responded in the same way.

Fitz stepped aside to allow her access into his home. She looked around the dimly lit house and admired the decor. Although he was a single man, his home said something else about him. It was a home fit for a family, not a single man or dad. This wasn't the first time she had been inside, but it had been a while and everything looked different. Of course Damage, whom she'd met before, had to come up to her and sniff her. She petted his back a few times before standing back up.

"Are the girls sleeping?"

"Yeah, Mamas is sleeping on the couch. I was going to put her in my bed but I wouldn't be able to hear her from down here if I did and I would've put her in Cam's bed but Cam as a tendency to kick in her sleep. My balls can attest to that." He joked, making Olivia quietly laugh. "I'm serious though and I didn't know Mamas snored when she slept."

Olivia playfully slapped his arm, "Stop making fun of the way my babies' sleep. You snore too."

"Yeah but I'm a grown man and snores like one. Your one year old daughter shouldn't be snoring like how I do."

"You're terrible." Olivia laughed. "She does not snore like you."

"Yeah, you're right… she snores like you."

"You're awful." Fitz opened his mouth to respond when the sound of her stomach cut him off.

"Shit Liv." He laughed.

Olivia blushed in embarrassment and buried her face in her hands.

"I'm guessing you didn't eat anything in a while." He assumed.

Olivia nodded, "The last thing I hate was a chicken sandwich at lunch which was hours ago."

"Well I made spaghetti for the girls and have a lot left over actually if you would like some."

"That's okay. I'll pick something up on my way home. I really don't want to be a bother to you any more than I have today and thank you again for watching Mariah for me."

Fitz held his hand up, "Liv, stop it. Stop thanking me. I already told you it was no problem at all. She was an angel as always and we had a great time. Now back to you, there's no way I'm letting you leave here without having something to eat. You might get lightheaded on the way back which could result in a car crash and I refuse to let that happen so follow me. I'm gonna heat you up a bowl of spaghetti." Fitz told her with finality.

She followed him into his kitchen and took a seat on one of the kitchen bar's chairs, while he reheated the leftover spaghetti before plating some of it and handed it to her. He then handed her a fork and asked her what she would like to drink.

"What do you have?"

Fitz shrugged, "A little bit of everything, soda, wine, beer, other alcoholic beverages, juice, all types of tea, water."

"Water's fine." Olivia said and Fitz nodded, grabbing a bottle from his fridge and handing it to her. "Thank you."

They talked about their days and funny things the girls did, while Olivia ate her dinner. Fitz was leaning against the kitchen counter as they spoke. They managed to keep the conversation innocent, although they could've sworn the other was flirting with them. Fitz hoped she didn't mistake his pleasantness for flirting, however, Olivia hoped the exact opposite. She still had feelings, strong feelings for him and missed him a lot more than what she lead on. Fitz put her dirty plate and fork in the dishwasher after she finished eating.

"Well, I should probably get Mariah and head out. It's way passed her bedtime." Olivia stated, standing up. "Thank you for dinner Fitz. It was delicious."

Fitz flashed her a soft smile, "You're welcome."

They walked into the living room. Fitz gently lifted Mariah up and snapped her back into her car seat. While he did that, Olivia packed her things back into her bag. Fitz carried Mariah's car seat to Olivia's car and buckled it into the back of her car for her.

"I guess I'll see you on Saturday when you drop Cam off." Olivia said through her rolled down window.

Fitz nodded, "Guess so."

"Goodnight Fitz."

"Night Liv and hey can you text me when you get home so that I know you and Mamas made it back safely please?" Fitz asked.

Olivia's heart swelled at his request. He was such a great guy and nothing like he used to be when they were teenagers. She constantly felt guilty for cheating on him. He had given her what she wanted from him all those years ago. After finding out she was pregnant, they gravitated towards a relationship. Fitz had really put his all into it and she ended breaking his heart when they hit a rough patch. Now, she yearned for his affection again, but didn't know how to get him to give it to her again.

"Yeah of course."

"Thanks. Drive safe."

He watched Olivia back out of his driveway and waited until her car was out of sight before he went back inside.

* * *

"This one daddy!" Camryn said excitedly as she pointed to the pink radio flyer fold to go tricycle.

They were in Toys R Us, browsing through the large variety of toys that filled the store. It took them nearly an hour to find the perfect birthday present for Mariah.

"Are you sure?" Fitz asked, eyeing the tricycle skeptically.

Personally, he thought his little Mamas was still too small to ride a tricycle, even though this specific one was designed for children in her age range. He also didn't want to buy something she couldn't use now or she would quickly outgrow. He wanted to buy her the perfect birthday present because she deserved it.

"Yes daddy, it's perfect."

"Okay."

Fitz couldn't believe he spent sixty dollars on a tricycle for his ex-wife's one year old daughter, but she was worth every penny. After purchasing the tricycle, Fitz put it in the bed of his truck and wrapped it in pink Disney princess gift wrapping paper, with Camryn's help, when they were at home.

They next day, Fitz was up bright and early for a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, he was the only one that was feeling energized. When he went to wake Camryn up the first time, she made it clear she wasn't ready to get up. He decided to let her sleep a little more since it was pretty early. However, an hour later, he received the same response from her. Again, he allowed her to sleep some more, but the third time he came in, he made her get up with no ifs, ands, or buts.

Because he let her sleep in later than he should have, they were running behind schedule. Fitz promised Olivia he would drop Camryn off before the party, so she could spend some time with her sister before the party guests showed up. He was disappointed that he had broken that promise and called her when he was on his way to explain what had happened. She only laughed and told him that it was okay. He ended up arriving to the party and hour late. Fitz carried Mariah's present, while he and Camryn made their way to the backyard.

Fitz was surprised to see a lot more people than he expected to be in attendance to a one year old's birthday party.

"Mommy!" Camryn ran over to her mother, who was conversing with two other women that Fitz recognized and gave her a big hug.

"Hi princess. Were you giving your daddy a hard time this morning?" Olivia asked, kissing her daughter's forehead.

"No." Camryn replied with a devilish grin.

"Yeah right." Olivia said giving her a knowing look.

"Hi Cam."

"Hi Aunt Abby!" Camryn hugged her favorite aunt before hugging her second favorite aunt, Quinn.

"Cam, go wish your sister a happy birthday. She's with Nana."

Camryn looked around the yard until she spotted her Nana and sister and skipped over to them.

"Hey Liv. Where would you like me to put this?" Fitz said walking up to her and her friends with the large neatly wrapped present in his hand.

"Oh my god! Fitz, that's huge! What'd you buy her?"

"You'll see and I didn't pick this out, Cam did and it is heavy might I add."

"Oh right. You can set it in the living room where the rest of the presents are."

Fitz did and returned seconds later. He greeted Olivia's friend and chatted with the three women for a little bit before he left. However, he didn't leave without wishing Mariah a happy birthday, speaking to Maya, and saying goodbye to his baby girl. Mariah's first birthday party lasted for four hours and was a success. Olivia was proud of the work she, her mom, and friends had done. Throwing a party was not easy, but it wasn't the first one she'd thrown. She was just glad that her youngest daughter enjoyed her special day with the people she loved.

Now it was an hour after the party and Olivia was still cleaning up. She didn't understand how there was so much to clean up at a one year old's birthday party. She was so into cleaning that she completely forgot about Fitz, who was at her front door.

"Fitz, I am so sorry. I should've called you but I got so busy cleaning up and it slipped my mind. Cam fell asleep. I'm sorry for not calling you like I said I would if she ended falling asleep. There's just so much to d-"

"Liv, it's okay. I understand. Today was an eventful day and you had a lot going on."

Olivia sighed with relief. Fitz was too good to be true.

"Thank you for understanding."

"Do you need any help cleaning up?" Fitz looked behind her at the mess. "What happened in there?"

Olivia looked over her shoulder and laughed, "I honestly have no idea. The party somehow made its way inside."

"Clearly." Fitz laughed.

"Shut up." Olivia laughed too. "Are you gonna help or make fun of my place."

"I'll help." He stepped inside.

With Fitz's help, they managed to clean the house spotless in less than thirty minutes. They were currently in the kitchen, hydrating after their hard work. Olivia was telling him about the party and the gifts Mariah received. She also thanked him for the present he bought her. Throughout their conversation, her mind kept drifting back to the conversation she had earlier with her friends. In that conversation, Olivia admitted that she missed being with Fitz and wanted to get back together with him. They encouraged her to follow her heart and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Olivia crossed the kitchen in a flash and before she knew it her lips was pressed firmly against his. To say Fitz was shocked by her actions, would be an understatement. He wasn't expecting her to kiss him at all. As good as it felt though, he couldn't bring himself to kiss her back. He couldn't bring himself to do something he knew he would regret. He gently grasped her shoulders and disconnected her lips from his.

"I'm sorry Liv, I can't do this."

His rejection stung like crazy, but she wanted to know why. "Why can't you?"

Fitz sighed and briefly closed her eyes before opening them back up to look her directly in the eyes. "Liv… I'm seeing someone." He felt like there was never a right time to tell her this. Really, he didn't have any intentions of telling her until it was time to introduce the woman he was seeing to their daughter.

"W-what?" Olivia couldn't even hide the heart break she felt in the moment. Her sad eyes quickly welled with tears.

"I'm seeing someone…" He reiterated. "and I have been for a while actually."

"How long?"

"A few months."

Olivia wanted to ask him how long a few months was exactly. In reality, she didn't say anything though. What could she say? How could she respond to that? The man she loved just told her that he was dating another woman and had been for a few months. She had no right to be upset or jealous because of what she did to him, but it still hurt like hell to hear that he was with someone else.

She wanted to know everything about his relationship and the woman he was in it with. She wanted to get an idea of her competition in other words. Olivia racked her brain, trying to understand how he could be dating a woman without her finding out after all this time. She was friends with him on Facebook and followed him on Instagram and there was nothing on either of his social media accounts that indicated he was off the market.

Or was there? She knew for sure he hadn't posted any pictures of his mystery woman on Instagram. There were only pictures of himself, Camryn, his family members, friends that she knew, and other things that were irrelevant. Olivia often "checked out" Fitz's Facebook page and his relationship status never appeared, so she just assumed he was still single.

"Liv, I was gonna wait to tell you about her until I was sure things were serious between us and felt it was time for her to meet Camryn." Fitz explained, pulling her from her thoughts. She, however, remained up in her feelings, but hid them for the moment.

"Are they?"

Fitz was confused. "Are they what?"

Olivia took a deep breath and willed herself to look him in the eye. "Are things serious between you two?"

"They're starting to be, yes."

"Who is she? Tell me about her." Olivia demanded casually as if she wasn't upset or jealous of the woman that was claiming the man she loved.

"Olivia…" Fitz sighed. He did not want to discuss his current girlfriend with his ex-wife. That was just something you didn't do unless you and your ex were close friends and were comfortable with talking about things like this with each other. He and Olivia didn't fall under that category.

"I just want to get an idea of the woman that you'll eventually introduce my daughter to." Olivia said with faux candor.

Fitz saw through her façade. He knew that she actually did care about the type of woman he would eventually bring around their daughter, but she was also doing it for her own selfish reasons. He also picked up on how she referred to Camryn as hers instead of theirs.

"Okay." He relented, folding his left arm over his right and hugging it into his body, a posture he mainly did when he felt defensive. "What do you wanna know?" He asked, leaning against her kitchen counter.

"Who is she?"

Olivia didn't hesitate to fire her first question. She had a list of them and was ready to attack him with them. She had questions and wanted answers.

"Her name is Naomi Richards. She's a speech language pathologist at Cam's school."

"How did the two of you meet?"

"I was picking Cam up from school early one day because the nurse had called me and told me she wasn't feeling well. While I was waiting in the office for her, Naomi walked in and somehow we sparked up a conversation. About a week later or something like that, she and a few of her friends showed up at the restaurant for dinner. We ended up sitting at an empty table, just the two of us, and talked until she had to leave with her friends. We exchanged numbers and from that night on we've been talking and occasionally seeing each other."

"How old is she?"

Fitz didn't know how that question was relevant, but he still answered. "Twenty-five."

"Does she have any kids?"

"No."

"What is she like?"

"She's great and the full package. She's funny, smart, patient, brilliant, independent, strong, and beautiful."

Fitz didn't feel comfortable with bragging about a woman he was falling for to the woman he used to be married to. This is what she wanted though. She wanted the truth and he was never the one to lie to her, even when they were teenagers.

"Wow, she sounds like something special."

He didn't know if Olivia was being genuine in her statement and it didn't really matter if she was or not. He had been cooperative while she probed him about his relationship, but now he was tired and ready to go home. He had no business being there if he wasn't picking up their daughter.

"Yeah… look, I have to head out now. Have a goodnight."

Fitz didn't even wait for her answer before he left. He didn't know how he felt about what had just occurred. He did know though, that he had to distance himself a little more from Olivia. She obviously made it clear that she still had feelings for him, but he deserved to be happy. He allowed her to move on with Jake and now it was his turn to move on with a woman he was really into. That night, neither he nor Olivia could sleep. They had a lot on their minds and had no choice, but to try to make sense of it.

* * *

"Did you have a good day?" Fitz asked his daughter through his iPhone screen.

It was the night after and they were currently on their regular nightly FaceTime call. Whoever Camryn was with, she made sure to FaceTime her other parent before she went to sleep.

"Yeah!" Camryn replied excitedly. She was propped up by her pillows in her bed.

"Oh yeah? What'd you do?"

He too was propped up by his pillows in bed. Camryn went on to replay her entire day to him without leaving out a single detail. By the time she was done, she was visibly drifting to sleep with each yawn that left her mouth.

"Wow, you really did have a fun day but I'm gonna let you go to sleep now okay. I love you."

"I love you too daddy." Camryn declared, through yet another yawn.

Fitz chuckled, "How much?"

"Forever and ever babe."

"Back at ya babe. Goodnight sweetheart."

"Night daddy."

"Aw she's so adorable." Naomi stated, joining him on the bed.

She walked in to only catch the end of their conversation. She opted to take a shower while Fitz talked to his daughter to give him privacy, and because she didn't feel comfortable interfering with their nighttime ritual. Plus she didn't want her and Camryn to meet for the first time over FaceTime.

Fitz smiled and draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and snuggled up to him. "Yeah, she is. She's the best."

"Did you tell her about me yet?"

Fitz sighed, shaking his head. "No, not yet. I meant to but I was so busy when she was with me I didn't get a chance to. I promise to tell her when I pick her up on Wednesday. I really want you to meet her. I feel like the time is right and we're ready to take that next step. How do you feel about that?"

"I agree. I'm really excited to meet her, nervous but also excited."

Fitz pulled back some to look at her. "What do you have to be nervous about?"

"I'm nervous because what if she doesn't like me."

"Baby, you have nothing to worry about. She's gonna love you. You are such a sweet and gentle person. You are absolutely an amazing woman and it's impossible for anyone to dislike you. Camryn's gonna love just as much as I love you."

Naomi smiled up at him and stared at his lips before planting a chaste kiss on them. "I love you too babe."

"Oh yeah, how much?" Fitz challenged with a smirk.

Naomi knew just what his question meant by the way he was looking at her. She noticed his eyes turned a darker shade filled with lust. She bit her bottom lip seductively and slid further down onto the bed. Fitz followed suit, positioning his body over hers. It was clear they were going to be having a long night filled with passion and pleasure.

* * *

 _ **At Olivia's house**_

She was currently in her living room nursing a much needed glass of wine, while telling Abby that went down between her and Fitz.

"So you have no idea who this woman is that Fitz is with?" Abby asked.

She was Olivia's best friend and as her best friend it was her job to be there for her sister from another mister.

Olivia shook her head. "Not a clue. All he did was talk about her as if she hung the moon." She sulked, rolling her eyes. "I know I don't have the right to be jealous but I love him Abby. I never stopped. Jake was a mistake, a fling. I should've never fallen for him when I had an amazing man and family at home."

"I know babes but there's really nothing you can do now. You're gonna have to wait until Fitz and what's her face break up if they break up or you could find a way to make him fall back in love with you." Abby shrugged, casually sipping on her wine as if she didn't just give Olivia an idea.

"That's it! Abby, you're a genius!" A startled Abby just looked at her like she was crazy from her sudden outburst. Olivia ignored her friend's look. "I'll find a way to make Fitz realize he does still love me."

"And how exactly are you gonna do that?"

Olivia frowned because she didn't know yet, but she would over time as long as she didn't take too much time figuring it out. By then it might be too late.

"I don't know yet. All I know is that I have to find out who this woman is he's seeing so I can see what I'm going up against."

"I still don't understand how they've been dating for months and you don't know about their relationship. Are you sure Fitz didn't post any pictures of her on Facebook or Instagram?"

"I'm sure Abby. I scrolled through all of his pictures on both apps and didn't see her."

"Give me your phone." Abby demanded with her hand held out.

Olivia eyed her suspiciously, "Why?" She asked slowly.

"So I can find out who this mysterious woman is because if I don't have proof I'm gonna say Fitz is making her up. Now hand it over."

Olivia put in her passcode before handing her phone over to Abby. She watched Abby tap on her phone's screen, wondering what on earth she was doing.

"Abby, what are you doing with my phone?" She voiced her thoughts, moving to sit beside her friend.

"I'm finding out if she exist or not."

Olivia saw that she was on Fitz's Facebook page. "I already told you he doesn't have anything on his page that indicates he's in relationship. No status, no pictures, no nothing."

"I heard you. That's why I'm not going through his pictures. What did you say his girlfriend's name was?"

Olivia thought hard for a second before the name finally came back to her. "Naomi Richards."

Abby hit Fitz's friend's list and searched for a Naomi Richards. As luck would have it, she did have a Facebook account.

"Bingo!" Abby said triumphantly.

"Oh my god, Abs you're the best!" Olivia said excitedly.

 _Why didn't I think of this?_ She thought to herself.

"And don't forget it.

Abby tapped on Naomi's name that lead to her page. Fortunately for them, her page was not private. They were shocked by the first thing they saw. They definitely weren't expecting that.

"Oh wow she's-"Abby started to say before she was cut off.

"Black." Olivia finished for her.

"That's a good thing if you think about it."

It was Olivia's turn to look at Abby as if she had lost her damn mind.

"How is her being black a good thing?"

Abby rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth at her friend's condescending tone.

"It means he's not really over you duh." Olivia scrunched her questioning brows. "It means that you are still his type and he's still into you whether he believes it or not. Plus she kinda looks like you."

The other woman did kind of favor her, but the differences between them were very evident. For starters Naomi was a shade or maybe even two lighter than Olivia. Her hair was long and light brown that matched her big light doe eyes, which were shielded by black framed hipster eye glasses. She too had a button nose and pink pouty lips that were a little fuller than Olivia's. She had dimples that were more evident when she smiled. Her smile was pretty and showed off her white straight teeth. She appeared to possess natural beauty since her face looked like it had little to no makeup applied to it. Her assets were definitely bigger than Olivia's, but they weren't too big. They seemed to be the perfect size for a guy like Fitz.

Olivia had to admit that she was a very beautiful woman that looked like she carried herself well. She had a type of pureness and modesty to her in the way she not only, looked but also in the way she dressed. Whether she was dressed up or wearing casual clothes, she seemed to remain classy. This made Olivia dislike her even more. If Olivia didn't believe in flaws, she would say the woman was perfect.

They scrolled through her feed, which was filled with nothing interesting, so next they went through her pictures.

Jackpot.

There were quite a few pictures of her and Fitz or just off guard pictures of Fitz in her album. Olivia wondered why she didn't tag Fitz in any of them, but didn't dwell too much on it. She will admit that she was starting to get even more jealous and angry the more they scrolled through her pictures of Fitz. There were some selfies, some of her and Fitz on his four wheeler with her arms wrapped around his middle, out on a trail donning workout clothes, in his pool, and other locations, doing other things. They looked like the picture-perfect couple in every snapshot.

"She's really pretty." Abby commented. Olivia threw her a side eye glare. "Sorry."

"She looks like she's boring and a goody goody. I know Fitz. He likes someone adventurous, exciting, and willing to task risks like me. He's probably only interested in her for her looks. He'll probably get bored with her soon."

Olivia knew deep down she was lying to Abby and herself. She had a feeling Naomi wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She had to come with a plan to break them up fast without making herself look bad. Olivia needed to find a way for Naomi to break Fitz's heart and when she did break his heart, she would be there to pick up the pieces and console him. He'll then fall back in love with her and they'll be together forever. That sounded perfect. If only that was easier done than said…

* * *

The next day, Fitz and his brothers were sitting in the living room of his house. Each were sitting or lying on a piece of the sectional in there, talking over some action movie they were paying very little attention to.

"So she just randomly kissed you?" Alvey asked his older brother incredulously.

Fitz nodded, "Yeah. One minute we were talking and in the next her lips were against mine."

"Did you kiss her back?" Grayson asked with a grin. He was enjoying their conversation too much, which made his brothers question his sanity.

"No of course not."

"Did you want to?"

"No Grayson."

"Really?" Grayson found that hard to believe. He understood that Olivia ran game on her brother, but she was still hot.

"Yeah really."

"Are you gonna tell Naomi about the kiss?" Alvey inquired with a more sensible question.

Fitz sighed, running a hand through his short curls.

"I don't know. I don't think so. I didn't kiss Olivia back and I explained to her that I was off limits. Plus it's not like I did something wrong. I love Naomi and I have been in pure bliss these past few months. I don't want to risk having problems or even potentially losing my relationship over one small kiss."

"I agree but be careful around Olivia. I'm serious man. Naomi is a great woman and I would hate to see her heart get broken because you let Olivia get to you." Alvey warned him.

"I won't hurt her. I promise you that I will never hurt her. I love her so much. When I look at her I see a future with her, a life. That's why I'm gonna introduce her to Cam on Wednesday after I pick her up from practice. Naomi agreed to come over for dinner."

Alvey and Grayson were both surprised at his admission.

Grayson quickly sat up from his lying position. "Woah bro that's a big step. Are you sure you've reached that point in your relationship?"

"I'm sure." He stated confidently.

And he was.

* * *

It was finally Wednesday, the day Fitz was introducing the most important ladies in his life to each other. Fitz was struggling to pay any sort of attention to his daughter's practice because Naomi was texting him nonstop. She had been texting him questions about Camryn all day. Most of them she already knew the answers to because he told her a lot about Camryn when they first started dating. Although, there was no harm in double checking. Fitz's phone vibrated again and he couldn't help, but smile and shake his head as he read yet another one of her text messages.

 **Naomi: Does Camryn like Liv and Maddie or Austin and Ally or Jessie?**

 **Fitz: All of the above. Why?**

She answered almost immediately.

 **Naomi: Because I'm in the Disney store right now and I'm trying to figure out what t-shirts to buy her.**

 **Fitz: Nay, you don't have to buy her anything.**

 **Naomi: I know but I want to. So which shirt should I buy her or should I buy all three?**

 **Fitz: You are NOT buying all three lol. I guess you should get a Jessie shirt with Luke on it. She has a crush on him.**

 **Naomi: Great! Thanks babe, see you later. Love you.**

Fitz smiled at that.

 **Fitz: Love you too.**

He was unaware of a pair of eyes periodically stealing glances at him behind Ray Ban sunglasses. He knew Olivia was at the field because he saw her when he arrived. He had purposely placed his chair several chairs away from hers, which was odd to the outside person if they noticed because he and Olivia always sat next to each other. After Camryn's practice ended, Fitz managed to collect her things and put them along with her in his truck barely uttering more than five words to Olivia. He of course had to acknowledge his little Mamas, but he hated that it was a very brief acknowledgement.

"Guess what Cam." Fitz said as they were driving home.

"What?" Camryn asked curiously.

"I have a surprise."

His words definitely made a bolt of excitement course through Camryn's body by the way she lit up.

"What is it daddy? Can I have it now?"

"No not yet but you'll receive it soon." He promised.

Fitz had texted Naomi to inform her they were home and she could come over now if she was ready. She texted back that she had just left and she would be there soon. Camryn took a bath, while Fitz cooked dinner. He was making tilapia, seasoned rice, and steamed vegetables. Fitz was almost done with dinner when the doorbell rang. He left the kitchen to answer the door. He was so thrilled that the loves of his life were finally going to meet.

"Hey beautiful." Fitz greeted her as soon as he opened the door.

"Hey handsome." Naomi returned, stepping through the threshold of the door. She walked into his personal space and pecked his lips.

Fitz had other plans though. He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss. Naomi giggled against his lips, breaking their lip lock.

She swatted his chest as she jokingly scolded him, "Babe, stop your daughter could catch us and I don't want her first impression of me to be the sight of me kissing her father."

She tried to step out of his embrace, but Fitz was having none of that. She was his and he had the right to hold her in his arms. Naomi threw her head back and laughed at his antics. "Don't worry, she's upstairs in her room watching TV. I'm sure she won't be down unless I call her."

"Let's not take our chances."

Fitz knew she was nervous and really wanted Camryn to like her, so he relented.

"Relax baby. Just be yourself. I promise you she's gonna love you." He reassured, planting a kiss to the crown of her head. She nodded and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Fitz grabbed her hand and led her further into his humble abode. "It smells great in here."

"Thank you. Dinner's almost ready." He informed her.

"What are we having?" She asked as they walked into the kitchen, where the mouthwatering aroma grew stronger.

"Tilapia, rice, and steamed veggies. That okay with you? If not I can make something else."

"No Fitz, don't you dare. This is perfect."

Fitz smiled at her, an action he couldn't refrain from doing when it came to her, whether she was in his presence or on his mind. No matter how she was involved, she possessed that kind of power over him that he did not mind at all because she made him happy.

"Would you like to meet Camryn now?" Naomi bit her lip nervously, but still nodded. She followed Fitz out of the kitchen into the living room. "Cam, can you come down here please!" Fitz called up the stairs. After several minutes passed, Fitz sighed. Camryn had not left her room and he knew that he would have to physically walk upstairs and pry her from the TV.

"Cam." He knocked on her door before entering it. "Cam, I have your surprise downstairs." Camryn got off her bed and ran to her door in a blur. Fitz almost didn't catch her before she left her room. "Before you see the surprise, I need to talk to you. Okay?"

She pouted, but agreed. "Okay."

Fitz placed her sideways on his lap.

"Cam, I have been seeing a woman for a few months. She is my girlfriend and she's been dying to meet you, so I invited her to join us for dinner tonight. Is that okay?"

Camryn didn't answer right away. She had to take a moment to process what he had just told her. He had a girlfriend. It wasn't just them anymore and that thought was scaring her. What if his girlfriend didn't like her? What if she was mean? What if her daddy stopped spending time with her because he only wanted to be with his girlfriend? What if her daddy stopped loving her because he only loved his girlfriend?

Fitz watched as the wheels were turning in her head. He wondered what was going through her mind. "Whatcha thinking about kiddo?" He finally asked.

"Is she nice daddy? Will she like me?"

Fitz smiled softly at his little girl. He actually found it funny that she and Naomi were nervous about the other not liking them.

"She's very nice and she told me she bought a present for you so how about we go downstairs and see what she got you." He suggested.

"Yeah!" Fitz knew she was more excited about receiving a present than meeting the woman he was in love with, but it didn't matter. He just wanted her to go downstairs and give Naomi a chance. "Can I have a piggyback ride?"

Fitz playfully rolled his eyes with a faux annoyed sigh. "Hop on." Camryn smiled and climbed off his lap to hop on his back. Fitz effortlessly stood up with her on his back and arms wrapped loosely around his neck. "And off we go!" He jogged through the hallway and carefully trotted down the stairs.

By the time they reached the bottom, Camryn's face was red from laughing so hard. Naomi sat on the couch with a pink gift bag on the cushion next to her, while petting Damage, who was sitting obediently in front of her. He started barking at the raucous the daddy-daughter duo was making. However, he made no move to try and break up whatever was going on.

Naomi enjoyed watching Fitz interact with his daughter and couldn't help, but feel like she was intruding in their sacred place. She had been to his house many of times during the months they've been dating and not once did she feel this way. It was different when his daughter was around though.

Fitz finally put Camryn down once he was out of breath from spinning her around. He immediately walked over to the couch and collapsed next to Naomi. Camryn stood in the middle of the room eyeing the pretty lady that managed to capture her father's heart. After a minute went by and the eight year old didn't say anything Naomi decided to be the one to start the introductions.

"Hi Camryn." Naomi said with a friendly smile.

"Hi." Camryn said shyly.

"It's very nice to finally meet you. Your daddy has told me so much about you. You're a very beautiful girl, even more beautiful than in the pictures your daddy showed me of you."

"Thank you." She blushed with a shy smile.

"I got you a little something. Your daddy said you might like it. I hope it's okay."

Naomi held out the bag for her to take. Camryn slowly walked closer to her with caution. She gently grabbed the bag and look at the content inside of it. Reaching inside the bag, she pulled out a folded white shirt. She placed the bag onto the coffee table, so she could unfold the shirt. A huge smile spread across her lips as her eyes lit up at what she was looking at.

"Do you like it?" Naomi already knew the answer to that question by the expression she had on her face. It didn't hurt to ask though.

"I love it! Thank you!"

Camryn shocked Naomi and even her father when she hugged the woman. Naomi hugged her back as Fitz sat off to the side grinning like a fool. The rest of the night was filled with laughter and fun times after the initial awkwardness of introductions was over. Camryn and Naomi hit off a lot better than either of them thought and all Fitz could do was sit back and watch his favorite ladies bonding. Camryn was disappointed when Naomi had to leave. She was enjoying her company. Her daddy was right, she was really nice. In Naomi's case, her man was right; his daughter did end up liking her just like he had said.

Fitzgerald Grant was right. For once in his life, he made the right decision. A decision he knew he wouldn't regret.

While Fitz walked Naomi out to her car, Camryn had fallen asleep on the couch. By the time he came back in she was far into the dream world. He carried her up to her room and laid her down in her bed. He kissed her cheek and whispered "goodnight" to her. As soon as he exited out of her room, his phone started ringing. He was receiving a FaceTime call from Olivia. Fitz sighed not wanting to answer this call, but couldn't ignore it either. He sighed and reluctantly accepted the call.

"Hey Fitz." She said in a cheerful tone. She wasn't expecting him to be the one to answer her call, but she had no complaints that he did.

"Hey, look Cam fell asleep so I'll have her call you in the morning." With that being said, Fitz ended the call before she could say anything else. He hated that he had to be curt with her, but he had to keep her at arm's length if he wanted to stay in his relationship.

* * *

"Daddy, guess what." An excited Camryn said, coming towards him. He was leaning against the side of his truck waiting for her to be dismissed from school.

"What?"

"I saw Miss Naomi today."

Fitz feigned surprise. "You did?" Naomi had texted him earlier and told him that she saw Camryn and even had lunch with her.

Camryn nodded, "Uh huh and she ate lunch with me."

"Oh that's awesome! Did you have a good time having her eat lunch with you?"

"Yeah daddy, she's the best. Is she gonna come over tonight again for dinner?"

Fitz was beyond thrilled that his daughter took such a liking to the woman he was seriously considering spending the rest of his life with.

"No baby. We're gonna have dinner at Nanny's and Pops' tonight."

Camryn's face slightly fell, but brightened back up at the mentioned of seeing her paternal grandparents. Fitz couldn't have parked his truck any faster in his parents' driveway before his daughter unbuckled her seatbelt and bolted out of it. She sprinted straight to the open door where her grandfather was standing in.

"Pops!" She yelled as he bent down to pick her up.

Fitzgerald Grant II was a tough as nails kind of guy that used to whip his sons with his leather belts, but when it came to his granddaughter, his hard exterior instantly melted.

"Hi my favorite girl. I missed you." He kissed her cheek and blew raspberries into her neck which caused her to laugh from the tickling sensation. It had been nearly a week since he last saw her and he needed his sugar.

"I missed you too Pops. Stop that tickles."

"Hey dad." Fitz greeted his father, once he joined them on the porch.

"Hey son."

"Pops, did you know that daddy has a girlfriend?"

Big Jerry faked a shocked expression that caused Camryn to giggle. Fitz grinned and shook his head. "No kidding, really?"

She nodded, "Yep and she's really nice."

"Well, that's good. I'm glad you like her."

"Where's ma?" Fitz asked his father, interrupting their conversation.

"She's in the kitchen." Fitz nodded and headed into the house, in the direction of the kitchen. "Let's go see Nanny." They followed behind him.

"Hey ma." Fitz said, walking up behind her at the stove to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Fitz. You need to shave this; you're starting to look like a caveman." She stated, grabbing both sides of face, which were covered in scruff.

Fitz shrugged. "I like it and so does Naomi."

Joanna Grant gave her son a knowing grin. "Of course she does." She teased.

Before Fitz could ask what that meant, the sound of his daughter's voice cut him off.

"Hi Nanny!"

She squirmed out of her grandpa's arms and attempted to run over to her grandma. Fitz, however, prevented her from doing so.

"Don't run Cam, Nanny is cooking. Walk." He told her and released her.

She walked over to her grandmother, who engulfed her in a big loving hug.

"Hi sweetheart. Where have you been?"

"Around." Camryn smirked.

"Gee I wonder where you get your sarcasm from." Joanna quipped, looking up at her eldest son.

"You can blame me all you want to but I too had to get my smart mouth from someone. Any guesses?" Fitz threw back in an accusatory tone.

"What are you tryna insinuate Fitzgerald?"

Fitz sneered and responded in an English, "Oh nothing, nothing at all mother dearest." Going back to his real voice, he asked, "Where are my idiot brothers?"

"Where do you think they are? They're riding."

"Alright, I'm gonna join them." He asked Camryn, "Do you wanna come with me?"

"Yes daddy."

"Okay let's go."

Fitz took her into the garage, where one of his four wheelers was in. His other was in his garage at his own house. He got on the vehicle first and then helped Camryn get situated in front of him. Fitz used to wear a helmet, but felt he didn't need one anymore. He'd been riding on four wheelers since he was a little kid and considered himself to be an expert on one. He also didn't demand that Camryn wear one because he never went fast when she was on with him or did any dangerous tricks.

He and Camryn rode through the neighborhood and even ended up running into Alvey and Grayson, who eventually took off to be menaces to society with their obnoxiously loud ATV's. Fitz didn't mind though, he enjoyed cruising on his with his little girl that was growing up so fast. He cherished these moments he got to spend with her. Her laughter was the greatest sound he had ever heard and would spend every single day of his life making her happy just so he could hear it.

They rode for about an hour before they headed back to the house, just in time for dinner. Dinner was lively as always when all of the Grants were together. After dinner, they had dessert and broke off to different things. Fitz, Alvey, and Big Jerry were watching game seven of the playoffs between Golden State and Oklahoma City. Joanna was also in the room, paying them no mind as she read her book. Grayson was upstairs in his room doing his homework with his niece's help, who had no clue what she was doing, but was happy to assist him.

Sometime during the game, Fitz got a call from Olivia. She was calling to chew him out about introducing their daughter to his girlfriend without her being informed. Fitz of course didn't want to argue with her in front of his parents or brother, so he went into the kitchen to verbally spar with her. Olivia was the first to calm down and asked if he could come over, so that they could talk civilly. Fitz knew he shouldn't have, but ended up going over her place to "talk"…so he thought.

Twenty minutes later, his truck pulled into her driveway. They resumed their conversation, which once again turned into an argument. This was all part of Olivia's plan though. She knew there was no way she could get Naomi to hurt Fitz, so she formulated a new plan and was in the middle of going through with it. Olivia knew Fitz liked to drink when he was in distress. He wasn't an alcoholic nor did he rely on alcohol to numb his feelings. He was actually very responsible when it came to how much alcohol he consumed despite the fact that he worked at a bar part time.

Tonight was different though. Olivia was purposely riling him up, so he would drink more without realizing it because she was effectively distracting him. When he started to slur his words, Olivia knew she got him right where she wanted him. This time when she made a move on him, he recuperated her actions. Before it registered to him what was going, he was upstairs, naked in her bed, fucking her into oblivion. Another thing alcohol did to him was make him horny. She prayed on his weakness and took full advantage it. She couldn't make Naomi break Fitz's heart, but she could make Fitz break Naomi's heart.

* * *

The next morning, Fitz woke up in a bedroom he didn't recognize. What he did know though was that his head was pounding and his body ached. He wondered what the hell he did last night and why he was naked. Then it all came flooding back to him. He looked down to find a peacefully sleeping Olivia resting with her head on his chest. She looked like she was having the best sleep of her life, while he felt like a complete asshole for cheating on the woman he loved with the woman he used to love.

Fitz disentangled his body from hers and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He didn't care that he rudely disrupted Olivia's sleep. He was pissed off at himself, but he was more pissed off at her for luring him in when she knew he was in a committed relationship.

"Mm good morning." Olivia said as she too sat up in bed. However, she was greeted by silence. "Fitz?" She touched his back and he flinched.

"Don't ever touch me again." He growled with his back still facing away from her.

"Fitz, I know you're upset but please just hear me out. I love you and I miss you. You can try to fool yourself into believing that you don't still love me but I know you do."

Fitz sighed and dropped his head, shaking it.

"If you don't love me then tell me. Tell me right now that you don't love me Fitz. I know you can't because you love me. I know you do."

Fitz hated to tell her the truth, but he never held it back from her no matter how much it hurt her. He sighed heavily and turned slightly to look at her.

"I don't love you Olivia, not anymore. I stopped being in love with you when you cheated on me. I love Naomi now. I'm in love with Naomi and I've actually been thinking about proposing to her." He admitted.

He always knew how to hurt her feelings. "Get out." Olivia choked out through her tears.

Fitz didn't need to be told twice. He hurriedly gathered his clothing and left Olivia to cry over him.

* * *

The following weeks after Olivia and Fitz's one night stand, Fitz was constantly in panic mode, afraid that Naomi would find out about what happened. It wasn't until a month went by that he could finally breathe again and relax. He was still feeling guilty, but had convinced himself Olivia was all to blame for what went down between them. Two months had passed and everything went back to normal except for his relationship with Olivia. Since that night they had found ways to avoid each other during drop offs and pickups. They didn't speak to one another unless they absolutely had to nor did they look one another in the eye.

Fitz was convinced they would never really speak again and that Naomi would never find out they had slept together. Man was he sadly mistaken. When Camryn's soccer season ended, she and family were invited to an end of the season banquet. It was hard for Olivia to enjoy the event dedicated to Camryn and her teammates when Fitz was being very affectionate towards Naomi. She took the opportunity to call him out on his bullshit when he went to the bathroom.

"What?" Was the first thing he said when he exited the bathroom to find her standing right outside of it.

"You have some nerve." She spat at him.

Fitz furrowed his brows, "Excuse me?"

"You have some nerve bringing her here."

Fitz rolled his eyes, "You can't be fucking serious. She's my girlfriend and loves Cam like she's her own daughter."

"Well Cam is not her daughter, she's mine."

"You're point is?"

"I don't want her coming to functions for _my_ daughter and I don't like how you're allowing her to play mommy to Cam either."

"Don't you mean _our_ daughter? And I don't appreciate you talking about my girlfriend like you are. She's a great woman and the least you can do is show her some respect."

Olivia scoffed, "Show her respect? Like you do?"

"What the hell are you talking about Olivia?"

"What? You forgot what we did all night long a couple of months ago?" She asked with a smirk.

"That night meant nothing to me and you know it. What happened was a mistake. I was drunk and you seduced me."

"Keep telling yourself that. You may have been drunk but you wanted it just as much as I did. And you know how I know that?" She paused to allow him to answer, but he remained silent staring at her, so she just told him the answer. "You did nothing to stop me."

Fitz was speechless. What could he say? He did put up a pathetic fight and easily gave into her. She was right, even though he was intoxicated; he still wanted to do every naughty thing to her and he did.

"Like I said, it was a mistake. _You_ were a mistake." He finally said.

"Just like in high school… you fucked me and then pretended like you didn't want me after you got off."

"Because I didn't then and I still don't now."

Olivia laughed humorlessly, "Then why did you call me every single time you needed to get off? You have always treated me like a whore and I was foolish enough to let you."

"Oh boo who Olivia. We both know that's not true. I gave you what you wanted in the end didn't I? I married you and you left me for another guy. It's not my fault you're miserable. You fucked up our marriage and now you have to live with the consequences of your actions."

"How dare you stand there and act as if you had no part in ruining us. First of all you only agreed to be with me after I told you I was pregnant with your baby. If it weren't for Camryn, you probably would have never given me the time of day again. I know you didn't really want to be with me. You forced yourself to be with me because you were only doing what you thought was right for our daughter. As for our marriage, you always had one foot in the door and the other out of it. I only knew a part of you. The other part you kept closed off to me. I was miserable when I was with you Fitz but I loved you with all my heart. Love wasn't enough to make me stay so I found someone that did what you failed to do and that was make me happy."

They let those words linger in the air. Neither of them really knew each other nor did they express their feelings to each other when they were together. This was the first time they actually discussed how they felt during that time.

"I thought I was doing everything right. Whether you believe it or not Olivia, I did love you. I was in love with you. In fact, I always cared about you more than I would have liked to admit. I'm sorry if you felt that I wasn't giving you my all. We were young and I didn't want to grow up so fast. I just wanted to feel good, you made me feel good. When you told me you were pregnant, I was scared but I also saw it as a sign. A sign that you and I were meant to be together. That's why I decided to give us a shot at a relationship."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Olivia asked weakly as tears spilled from her eyes.

Fitz shrugged, "I was immature and prideful I guess."

"We would've had a chance if we knew how to communicate with each other back then."

Fitz nodded in agreement.

"I really do miss you Fitz. I know you're happy with Naomi who's a wonderful woman but I know you. I know where your heart belongs. It belongs with me and mine belongs with you. I'm asking you to give me another chance, give us another chance. Please. I love you. We belong together."

Olivia put the ball in his court, which meant the pressure was really on for him. He could answer one way and break her heart or he could answer another way and break Naomi's heart. Either way he was screwed. He was in between a rock and a hard place. Fitz wanted to shoot whoever came up with the saying it was impossible to be in love with two people. Unless… maybe he never actually fell out of love with Olivia, but buried his feelings for her and convinced himself that he was in love with another to help heal his wounds

Fitz took a step forward, resting in his hands on her hips. He sighed deeply, "Liv, I-"

"Fitz?" A familiar voice came from behind him.

Fitz quickly dropped his hands to his side and spun around to come face to face with Naomi. The look on her face was one of heartbreak. He knew all too well what that looked and felt like.

"How could you?" She asked weakly through her falling tears.

Fitz opened his mouth to respond, but Naomi had already turned around and ran off, attempting to wipe away her tears as she did. With his eyes closed, Fitz tilted his head up and clenched his jaw. He had no idea what he was going to do. He knew he should chase after Naomi, however if he did do that, that would mean he was choosing her over Olivia.

Olivia was beyond nervous. She had no idea what was going through his mind. His reaction told her very little. All she knew was that she wanted him back. She hated that she hurt another woman, but all's fair in love and war. She did what she had to do and hoped that Fitz chose her.

She got her answer when he dropped his head, refusing to make any eye contact with her and said, "I'm sorry." Before taking off in the direction Naomi went in.

Olivia stood there in disbelief as she watched the man she loved run after another woman. The feeling coursing through her body was one she felt before, but it had never been this severe. Fitz had rejected her in the past, but the way he left her felt more like betrayal. He did what she thought would be impossible after all they've been through. He didn't choose her.

* * *

 _ **One year later…**_

"Dada, ook!" A now two year old Mariah announced as she stood in a blue and purple Little Mermaid themed one piece bathing suit, standing at the edge of the pool with her matching floaties on either arm.

"Wow Mamas, I like your bathing suit. You look very pretty in it." Fitz said, smiling up at her. He was already in his pool, standing in front of the edge with his chin resting on his folded arms.

"Tank ou dada."

"Can dada have a kiss?"

Fitz lifted his head with his lips puckered. He held Mariah by her hips as she bent down to kiss his lips.

"Mimi, do you want to get in the pool with us?" Camryn asked her sister from her spot lying on a bitten into ice cream sandwich raft. She had a ton of food themed rafts that she convinced her father she just needed to have.

She shook her head, "Mama come."

Fitz looked passed his youngest daughter, at the opened glass sliding doors.

"Where's mama?" He asked her.

Mariah shrugged, "I not know dada."

"Olivia! Get your ass out here we're waiting!" Fitz called out to her.

Moments later Olivia walked out of the doors with Damage hot on her heels. "Okay geez I'm right here." She said as she dropped her towel on one of the lounge chairs.

Fitz's jaw dropped and he felt his white, teal, and gray stripped trunks tighten at the sight of her in a tight black bikini that left very little to the imagination.

Olivia smirked at his reaction. She knew she made the right decision when she put on that bikini. The way Fitz reacted was exactly what she wanted.

"You better close your mouth before you catch flies." She quipped as she approached the edge of the pool.

"Damn Livvie. What are you tryna do, kill me?"

Olivia squatted down a placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Not intentionally." She whispered on them and took his bottom lip in between her teeth. Fitz groaned when she released it. If it weren't for their daughters being present, Fitz would have already had her naked, writhing against the side of the pool, while she screamed his name as he plowed into her heat. His wife was one sexy woman and he couldn't get enough of pleasing her body. He couldn't get enough of her in general. She made him a happy man.

They obviously had their problems in the past, but counseling helped them through their problems. A year ago, Olivia thought Fitz had chosen to be with Naomi, but he only went after her to apologize and admit his feelings for Olivia. Luckily she was understanding and allowed them to end on an amicable note. After they went their separate ways, Fitz headed straight to Olivia's house, surprising his three girls and came clean to her about how he felt. They ended up getting back together and Fitz asked if he could adopt Mariah, which Olivia agreed to without any hesitation. Fitz was always her father even if they didn't share the same DNA and she felt that it was time he was given that title. Of course his parents didn't approve of Fitz's decision to take Olivia back, but she had worked hard to earn their forgiveness and trust back. She promised them that she would never hurt their son again.

Olivia picked up Mariah and walked over to where the stairs to the pool were. The pool was heated, so Mariah could easily adjust to the water. Olivia set Mariah down on the first step. She thought her daughter would be fine as she set out further into the water. She didn't make it far before Mariah broke out into waterworks, holding her arms up.

"Okay, okay. You're fine. There's no reason to be crying."

Olivia picked Mariah back up, but Mariah had a little attitude on her. She scrunched her eyebrows and reached out for Fitz.

"Dada."

Fitz swam over to them and scooped up his baby girl in his arms. "Stop frowning, you're too cute to be frowning." He kissed her little nose, which caused her to smile again.

Olivia joined Camryn in the middle of the pull. She was playfully threatening to tip her off the raft.

"No mommy don't!" Camryn laughed as her mother jokingly tipped over the raft.

In order to get her to stop, Camryn splashed her mother. Olivia shrieked and the look on her face told her daughter she better run. Camryn rolled off of the raft and swam underwater, while her mother grabbed a water gun. They both had the same idea in mind when Camryn swam to another water gun. They simultaneously shot at one another as they took cover behind the many rafts in the pool. All the while, Fitz and Mariah were in their own world. When they were all water gun fight out, they took a break. Camryn took Mariah to play on the swing set. Fitz and Olivia took advantage of the semi-privacy they had. He had her pressed against the side of the pull as he attacked her lips and his hands roamed her body. Damn he wanted her bad.

"Let's go inside for a little bit." Fitz whispered in her ear.

"Babe, we can't. Who's gonna watch the girls?"

"We'll be quick I promise. Ten minutes tops."

"Later okay. Someone needs to keep an eye on the girls."

Olivia tried to kiss his frowning lips, but he turned his head, causing her to settle one on his cheek.

"Babe-"

Just then they were interrupted by a loud male voice that belonged to none other than Grayson Grant.

"CANNONBALL!"

Before they had the chance to move, Grayson, with a running start cannonballed into the pool causing the water to splash his older brother and his sister-in-law.

"Grayson!" They growled at the same time went he came back up.

He gave them a sheepish grin, "Sorry."

"Uncle Grayson!" Camryn ran over to the pool and hopped in to hug her uncle.

"Hey squirt."

"What're you doing here Gray?" Fitz asked as he and Olivia made their way over to Grayson.

"Well I actually just stopped by to raid your refrigerator but then I noticed you guys back here and decided to join in on the fun."

"I'm gonna put a boot on your car if you keep dropping by my house unannounced." Fitz threatened.

Grayson scoffed, "Like that'll stop me."

"Be nice. Gray, you're welcomed here anytime you want. Don't listen to him." Olivia gently shoved Fitz's head in a playful manner. Fitz pinched her hip in retaliation.

"Gway Gway!"

They all turned at the sound of Mariah's voice calling for her uncle.

"Mar Mar!" Grayson swam over to her and scooped her into his arms, kissing her forehead. "You look like a beautiful little mermaid in your bathing suit."

Fitz allowed his daughters to distract his brother, while he whisked Olivia up to their bedroom. As promised, they returned ten minutes later, sated for the moment, but later they were in for a much longer treat. They joined the other three Grants in the pool again and stayed in there until the sun started to go down and the air started to become cool. After getting out of the pool, showering, changing into lounging clothes, and eating dinner, the Grants went on the back porch to warm up by the pit. They also made s'mores. Fitz and Olivia were cuddled together on one lounge chair, while Grayson snuggled up with his nieces on another, who eventually fell asleep with s'mores all over their faces.

Fitz helped him clean them off and carried them up to their respective rooms. Since it was summer break, Fitz allowed Grayson to stay in the guest room for the night. He and Olivia bade him a goodnight before retiring in their bedroom.

"Well today was a good day." Fitz stated as he spooned Olivia from behind after two amazing rounds of lovemaking.

Olivia turned her head to look at him, "Oh yeah, why's that?"

Fitz smiled and kissed her eyelid. "Because I got to spend it with my beautiful wife and our beautiful daughters."

"Awe babe." Olivia kissed his lips. "Don't forget your beautiful brother."

"Haha." Fitz laughed sarcastically.

"Stop being such a jerk. You know you love him."

"Unfortunately." Fitz sighed, which caused him to receive an elbow to his gut. "What?"

"You're the worst." Olivia laughed.

Fitz flashed her a boyish grin. "Yeah but you still love me."

"I do love you."

"I love you too."

He kissed her.

"How much?" Olivia asked with her lips still connected with his, turned up in a mischievously smile.

"Forever and ever babe."

"Back at ya babe."

They shared a final kiss before settling in a comfortable position and falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

 **THE END! I hope you enjoyed! For those of you that read Hold Tight, there will be an update for that FF soon!  
**


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